Roots & Seeds
by RoadrunnerGER
Summary: Sequel to Australian Christmas Greetings. After forcing intercourse on Bobby last year, Nicole is back... and ready to turn Alex and Bobby's lives upside down when she gives birth to Bobby's daughter... Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Roots and Seeds**

a Law and Order: CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Dick Wolf still has not agreed to sell them, so they're not mine. This is just for fun and practice.

_Summary_: Sequel to Australian Christmas Greetings. Nicole's back… and ready to turn Alex and Bobby's lives upside down! She's not the only one… Enjoy! :D

A/N: Thanks for reading my Christmas story last year. I planned to do the sequel much earlier, but somehow it just did not happen. Then _Blucougar57_ coaxed me into trying to write a NaNo project and as I did not have anything more than the general idea of the sequel I decided to write it for the _we are writing a 50,000 words counting novel in 30 days_ challenge. LOL Well, I hope you'll enjoy this one, too. Special thanks to _Bammi1_ for beta reading as well as to _Blucougar57_ and _McParrot_ for encouragement and advise.

**Chapter 1**

The telephone ringing in the middle of the night was nothing new for two seasoned detectives with the Major Case Squad of the New York Police Department. Still Alex Goren, nee Eames, groaned loudly when she heard the annoying sound. She was nine months pregnant and Captain Ross had agreed with them not to put Bobby on call during her last four weeks.

"Ooooh, if that's not important I'll kill them!" Alex groaned as she slapped Bobby's head. Unlike her Bobby was a sound sleeper. So she had to pat him again until he responded.

"Huh?" he moaned. "Alex? Is it time? Are you in..."

"The phone, you idiot," she growled.

It was odd how he had changed since their wedding. Having a wife and soon a family of his own chased away his restlessness. He settled down with her in her house and she noticed with concern that his priorities changed from chasing murderers to being house husband. That impression became even stronger since she had to change to office duty.

Now that she had to stay home he could not fuss over her all the time. Instead he had talked her sister into that role while he was working all day. When he came home in the evening he dropped on the sofa beside her, having grape juice instead of wine because he did not want to tempt her, and watching the most romantic, tissue requiring, movies with her.

"Now if that's not important," he growled. "I asked them not to put me on call until after the birth."

"I know," Alex murmured. She was tired. She had just managed to fall asleep when the phone rang.

Still the rings repeated themselves annoyingly. So Bobby shifted his position to reach for the phone.

"Goren," he grumbled.

"Bobby?" The female voice on the other end of the line sounded pained. Still Bobby recognized it at once, even though she just spoke one word.

"Nicole?"

Alex almost fell off the bed when she heard her husband's arch enemy's name.

"Bobby, I need your help."

Nicole was breathing hard. Alex could hear it even through the phone. What made the psychopath call Bobby in the middle of the night? Was it not enough what she did to him last year so close to Christmas? Why did she have to stir everything up again?

"What's wrong, Nicole?" Bobby asked, sounding concerned, actually.

Alex was confused… until she remembered exactly what Nicole Wallace had done to him. And to her, too, one way or the other.

"I… I'm in… labor," Nicole gasped.

"Shit," Alex murmured. She could hear everything now because Bobby had pressed the button for the speaker.

"Naomi… she's dead. She… died in… an accident. Aaaah!"

"Nicole? Where are you? Are you at a hospital?"

"Nooo…"

"What?" Bobby was thunderstruck. Why did she not go to a hospital? _Because she's still wanted for murder,_ he realized. _She would risk getting reported and arrested._

"Where are you?" he repeated.

By now he was out of the bed and getting dressed. He did not bother to put on a suit, but slipped into jeans and a sweater instead. Now he put on sneakers before he reached for his cell phone and gun holster.

Nicole gave him the address and Bobby put his gun in the holster. He was about to leave their bedroom when Alex stopped him, "Where do you think you're going?"

Stunned he spun around.

"What do you mean?"

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get her and take her to a hospital. She can't give birth all on her own. She needs medical attention." He saw Alex scowl deeply. "Well, the child needs medical attention," he added for good measure.

She still looked skeptical.

"Why would you care?" Alex spat, surprised by the venom in her own voice. "After everything she's done to you. After everything she's done to me! Why?"

"This child is my child as much as hers. Should I let it die just out of spite?" Bobby looked thoroughly confused. "What do you want from me? Are you asking me to stay? Nicole might be… she is in trouble. She's about to give birth. She and the child could die."

He looked at her pleadingly.

"Do you want me to give up the child just because its mother is a psychopath?"

_He's right._ Alex shuddered. _The kid is innocent. It's not responsible for what its mother has done. Knowing what Nicole did to her daughter it might be better to go and save the child right after birth. Nicole still is wanted for murder. Bobby will call a bus and a patrol car, they'll arrest her and the kid will be safe…_

"It is my child, too, Alex," he shook her out of her thoughts. "I just can't sit and do nothing. It was not fathered voluntarily, but it is still my child. My flesh and blood. I can't…" He trailed off when he saw her pale. "Alex? Are you okay?"

_What a silly question,_ she thought. _Doesn't he see that I'm not okay?_

And really, Alex started to shiver. She gasped for breath as a first pain stabbed her back.

_No!_

"Alex?!" Rising panic made his voice waver. "Alex, what's wrong?"

"I… I think… I think I'm going into labor," she gasped.

"What?" Now Bobby's voice was breaking with that one word. "You're not serious, are you?"

"You won't go to Nicole, Bobby," Alex growled. "You'll stay with me."

Alex did not care how selfish that sounded. All she knew was that her own baby, their son, was about to be born, too, and Bobby would be present for the birth. If he was not he would lose important body parts.

Bobby was torn.

Torn between Nicole, his arch enemy, the woman who had tried more than once to turn his life into hell, and his Alex, the woman he loved more than life itself who stood by him through thick and thin, through all his ups and downs, and who was about to give birth to their son.

Torn.

It was not that hard a decision to make.

Bobby took his cell phone and pushed a speed dial number. After about fifteen rings a sleep drunk voice answered him, "Log'n…"

"Mike! It's Bobby. You'll have to do me a favor."

Groaning came out of the phone.

"You have any idea how late it is?" Mike complained. "It's the wee small hours, about half past three… Why don't you sleep like normal people?"

"We're about to get a kid like normal people," Bobby replied.

Thump!

Whatever Mike had done, it could be heard through the phone, along with his howl of pain. Maybe he sat up too quickly and hit his head or shin or something.

"Alex is in labor?" Mike demanded to know.

"Yeah," Bobby confirmed. "And so is Nicole Wallace."

"What?"

"She called here to let me know that she's about to deliver our baby… I promised her to pick her up to bring her to a hospital, but just when I wanted to leave Alex went into labor, too."

And there was no question about who Bobby would accompany now.

"So what?" Mike asked, even though he harbored a strong suspicion about what he was expected to do. "What do you need me for?"

"I need you to go and bring Nicole Wallace to a hospital, Mike," Bobby told him. His earnest tone left no doubt about just how serious he was.

"Okay, give me the address," Mike agreed, knowing that he had no chance to get out of this.

"Satisfied now?" Bobby asked Alex, snapping the phone shut.

"I think so," she murmured. She sat on the bed again, gently stroking her swollen middle. Was she really in labor? Maybe her body was playing a trick on her. No, there was the rising pain in her lower back. It would take quite a while, but she definitely was in labor. _Damned Nicole Wallace,_ she thought. _That's not how I imagined getting my own son._

"Are you okay, Alex?" Bobby asked.

He appeared in front of her, her favorite pants and sweater in one hand, her hospital bag in the other. Her heart flowed over with love.

"Yeah. I'm okay. Do you think Mike will be okay, too?"

"I hope so," he chuckled. "Come on. I'll help you to dress. Do you need to go to the bathroom?"

Taking his offered hand she got up, this time a little awkwardly. "No, I don't think so," she said once she was standing. She put on her clothes and they were ready to go.

tbc…


	2. Chapter 2

**Roots and Seeds**

a Law and Order: CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Dick Wolf still has not agreed to sell them, so they're not mine. This is just for fun and practice.

A/N: Thank you for your nice reviews. It makes me happy that you like it. I'll try and post this story as Advent Calendar like I did with Australian Christmas Greetings last year. Let's see how it continues. ;) Enjoy.

**Chapter**** 2**

Mike Logan was not really sure what he was going to do when he arrived where Bobby had sent him to. It was a motel in Brooklyn, room 33, from which the second three was missing on the door. When he found the right door between room 32 and 34 he heard a woman moan. Mike was about to knock when she screamed, so he forgot about knocking and just tried the handle, bursting inside where he found the slender blonde on the bed, writhing in pain and clutching at her swollen stomach.

Panic gripped Mike's heart as he saw her lay in her own blood. She seemed to have lost a lot of it. The covers were soaked in red.

Getting out his cell phone he called dispatch and told them to order a bus. Then he rushed to Nicole's side.

"Bobby?" she groaned as she felt his hand on her sweat glistening forehead.

"No, it's Mike Logan," he told her.

"Where's Bobby? I need him. His baby's comiiiiinng!" Her sentence ended in a renewed scream.

Mike was at a loss. He had no idea what he was supposed to do other than holding her hand and murmuring reassurances until the bus arrived. Hopefully they would come soon. In the meantime he could only watch how Nicole was tortured by labor cramps. She was tossing her head from side to side and tried to squirm away from the agony without success. Her hand gripped Mike's hard, so hard that he thought she might break a finger or two.

Then the arrival of the medics saved him. Unceremoniously they pushed him aside to go and tend for their patient. Nicole was weak. When they lifted her on the stretcher she did not appear lucid. She did not even writhe in labor. She just lay there and let it happen.

"What's wrong with her?" Mike asked concerned.

"The baby's not lying right," a medic told him. "We can't turn it here and now. She'll have a C-section at the hospital."

Mike frowned at him. "But she'll survive, right?"

"I don't know. She lost a lot of blood."

"And what about the baby?" Now Mike was close to a panic again.

"We'll do what we can, but we probably won't be able to save either of them." He pushed Mike aside again. "And now we have to hurry. Go on, Brian."

And with that the medics pushed the gurney out of the motel room to the waiting ambulance. The doors closed and Mike could only stare at the rear lights and listen to the siren as it drove off the motel's parking lot.

xXx

At the same time Bobby was holding Alex's hand. She lay on a hospital bed and was pushed toward the labor ward. Unlike Nicole she was not writhing with pain. Actually she felt quite well. She wondered if that birth would be as unspectacular as delivering her nephew.

Being surrogate mother for her sister, the same one Bobby had _hired_ for caring for her, had been a wonderful experience and she loved Neal with all of her heart. But being pregnant with her and Bobby's love child was a completely different matter. She looked so forward to holding her son in her arms.

Looking up at Bobby she smiled lovingly. There was the man she loved and soon they would be a real family.

_Well, maybe we should get a dog,_ she thought, oddly, and had to chuckle.

"What's on your mind, love?" Bobby asked.

"I was wondering if we should get a dog, Bobby," she told him seriously. "A golden retriever maybe? I like them. They're very friendly dogs and do very well with children."

Bobby could just stare at her in disbelief. She was in labor and all she thought about were dogs?

"Yes, Bobby, I'm serious," Alex chuckled. "Think about it. I love golden retrievers. I'm sure you'll love her, too."

Bobby was perplexed. She seemed to have thought that matter through in only seconds. Now she also made clear that the dog was supposed to be female. Well…

"You said that you want to come along for the birth, right, Mr. Goren?" a nurse suddenly demanded his attention.

"What?" Shaken out of his thoughts he did not catch what the nurse said.

"I asked if it is correct that you want to be present for the birth, Mr. Goren," she repeated.

"Oh, yes! Of course!" he blurted out.

"Okay, then please slip that gown on," she said, holding it for him as he put it on. "There you go. Now you can accompany your wife."

He smiled at her so heartwarmingly that she wished, just for a second, that he was not already married to the petite blonde in the labor ward. She sighed.

Bobby did not notice her regret and hurried after Alex who already was inside. His heart beat in his throat and his stomach rumbled as if a herd of elephants were tap dancing inside of it. The image reminded him of Walt Disney's Phantasia and the ostriches, hippos, elephants and crocodiles dancing ballet to La Joconde. It was one of his favorite movies. He loved the way the Disney artists had transformed the classic music into pictures.

"Bobby?" Alex shook him out of his reverie. "No time for daydreaming!"

Her labor had advanced so she was having regular contractions in shorter intervals now. Soon the baby would come.

Bobby shuddered with anxiety and excitement.

The minutes did not seem to pass at all as he waited for the birth to start. So he was almost beside himself when a nurse announced that she could see the head crown.

From where Bobby stood beside Alex, holding her hand with his left hand and his right arm wrapped around her back to support her, Bobby craned his neck to see, but the covers draped over Alex blocked his line of sight.

"It's almost there!" the nurse yelled. "Just push! Push now! And don't forget to breathe! Yes! That's it! Push again…!"

Alex cried out with pain and exertion.

And then, suddenly, the cry of life filled the labor ward.

Bobby's delighted grin spread over his whole face, the corners of his mouth tickling his earlobes. Alex clung to his left arm and cried. So he bent down to kiss first her cheek then her mouth. He was so proud of her. And he loved her so much.

A nurse held the little bundle of human being and after the boy was cleaned up and wrapped in a blanket she gave him to Alex.

"Hello!" Alex cooed. "Welcome to the world Ronny Lee Goren."

Her broad smile lit up the room like a super nova as she beamed up at Bobby before she kissed him.

"He's perfect," Bobby whispered. He was in awe.

"Yes, he is."

xXx

Mike sat in the waiting area at the hospital and twiddled his thumbs. Nicole still was in surgery and so far no one could tell him what was going on with her. That it took so long was not a good sign. It was not the first time that Mike had to wait in a hospital, though he never waited for a woman giving birth.

_Having a C-section,_ he reminded himself. _I hope she'll be okay. It would be a pity if she would steal herself out of the responsibility for the murders she committed. She belongs in prison and she can't be tried if she doesn't survive._

_And the baby… If it really is Bobby's baby? He should have a paternity test._

_No, don't think about that now. It's none of your business, really. It's completely Bobby's decision if he wants to know… but I'm sure he'll want to know._

Another gurney was pushed by. The victim of a car accident, Mike thought, judging by what he could catch with the glimpse of the woman he got.

So much blood. Mike was fed up with blood. He thought he could still smell it and maybe he did. There was blood on his jacket and pants. Nicole's blood.

Mike hated hospitals. Whenever he had to be in one he was either waiting for someone who got shot or otherwise wounded or he was injured himself. So being at a hospital was nothing he ever looked forward to.

_I guess the only people who like being here are the nurses and doctors,_ Mike mused. The halls were busy as an ant hill. It seemed to be complete chaos. Still the ants in the busy heap knew where to go and what to do.

"Sir?" A young man in scrubs stopped in front of Mike. "I'm Dr. Dempsey. Are you here for Miss Wallace?"

"Yeah," Mike said. "Detective Logan. How is she?"

"We successfully performed a C-section. The baby is alive and well. A little girl. Miss Wallace, though, is a different story."

"Yeah? Why?"

"We had to induce an artificial coma. She has lost a lot of blood and is quite weakened. The next forty-eight hours will be critical."

"But the baby is okay?"

"Yes. She's healthy and well developed. Weakened by the difficult labor, but otherwise okay."

"Okay."

Mike took a deep breath. He was glad for Bobby that the baby, the little girl, would be alright.

_What if Nicole doesn't make it?_ Mike wondered. _And if Bobby really is the father? Would he want to claim custody? Now that Alex is pregnant, too? Would he want to do that to her? Ask her to raise the child of his arch enemy?_

Mike decided that he should stop such crude thoughts. Two uniformed officers arrived and Mike used the opportunity to leave and go home. He needed to get out of those filthy clothes. He needed a shower. He needed food.

And maybe he could get an hour or more of sleep before he had to be on duty again.

tbc…


	3. Chapter 3

**Roots and Seeds**

a Law and Order: CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Dick Wolf still has not agreed to sell them, so they're not mine. This is just for fun and practice.

A/N: Thank you for your reviews. Some interesting opinions. :D Thanks to _Bammi1_ for beta-reading. Enjoy!

**Chapter**** 3**

Alex woke up to a sunny morning. She felt really well and was surprised by how easy it had been this time. She could hardly recall her labor. Did she give birth at all?

She looked at her now flat stomach.

Yes, she did.

Alex's gaze drifted aside and fell on the easy chair by the window. She grinned at the sight.

Bobby slumped in the chair that was not quite big enough to accommodate his big frame. His head was bent back on the back rest, and his long legs stretched, crossed at the ankles. He was fast asleep.

In a crib beside the easy chair slept their son.

Bobby's right arm was stretched out, draped over the rim of the crib, and his fingers resting on the baby's chest. Subconsciously he caressed the baby boy in his sleep.

Alex smiled lovingly at her husband and son. If someone would have told her last year around that time that she would ever be this happy she would have laughed in his face. But now she had a family and her heart filled with joy whenever she thought of Bobby or Ronny Lee.

The door opened and a nurse came in.

"Good morning, Mrs. Goren," the young redhead greeted. "I'm nurse Anna. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you." She smirked at Bobby. "But I guess he'll have a stiff neck."

"Probably. Would you like tea or coffee with your breakfast?"

_Breakfast?_

As if on command Alex's insides started to rumble. Oh, she was so hungry. And the thought of her favorite drug…

"Coffee would be wonderful, Anna. Thank you."

The nurse smiled and left the room to return with a tray a moment later.

"Enjoy your meal," she said. "Dr. Sloan will come around at about nine."

"Thank you," Alex mumbled around the slice of bread she had stuffed in her mouth. God, she was hungry. And so she devoured her meal in a matter of minutes. After she swallowed the last bite she turned to her husband again.

"Bobby?" she said, and repeated a little louder. "Bobby!"

Blinking a few times Bobby shook off his sleep. It took a while until he was awake enough to realize where he was and what he was doing there. Then his gaze came to rest on Alex.

"Good morning, love," he smiled. "You already had breakfast?"

"Yep. Sorry, that I didn't save anything for you, but I was hungry."

"No problem. I'll find something to eat." His look was drawn to the crib and his smile broadened when he spotted the little boy in his cradle. "Good morning, sunshine," he said. "Welcome."

"I think he should eat something, too," Alex said and reached out for her son. Bobby lifted him out of the crib and placed him gently in Alex's arms. She exposed her left breast and shifted Ronny Lee's position so that he could better reach her nipple. Once he found it he happily suckled on it.

Both parents watched him for a while until someone knocked on the door and Mike appeared under the frame.

"May I come in?" he asked.

"Sure, Mike," Alex said, offering him a wholehearted smile. "Meet Ronny Lee Goren."

"Ronny Lee?" Mike smirked at the baby. "Nice to meet you, Ronny. Already keeping them busy?"

"Anything new?" Bobby asked unexpectedly.

"About Nicole?" their colleague asked back. "Well, yes. She's in an artificial coma. The baby is alright."

_Thank god,_ Bobby thought, glancing at Alex.

"Boy or girl?" Alex wanted to know.

"A little girl," Mike told her. "She's at the children's medical unit. As Miss Wallace is in a coma she can't breast feed her. So she has to be fed with a bottle."

Bobby avoided looking at Alex… and her firm breasts. Judging by how big they had become over the last weeks of her pregnancy Alex certainly had more milk than she needed. Just how should he address that matter with his wife? He did not even know for sure if the baby Nicole had given birth to was his. He just had the word of the psychopath to go by. So even though he knew that it was possible after what she had done to him, he had no confirmation so far.

There was no way around it. He needed to have a paternity test.

"Bobby?" Alex suddenly asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he rushed to say, but he could tell by her frown that she did not believe him. Damn! Why did she have to be so perceptive?

_Because that makes her a good cop,_ he answered his own question. Bobby smiled sheepishly.

"I can't keep anything from you, can I?" he mused. "It's Nicole. I mean, it's her baby. I want to go and see it, um, her."

Alex made a face of disapproval, but deep inside her heart she knew that he had to do it. He needed certainty. Bobby could not live with a _maybe_ or _I should have tried to find out_. He had to go and find out if this little girl really was his.

Alex knew that.

She just was scared of what he might want to do if she really was his flesh and blood.

xXx

Family.

Family was the most important thing on earth. His mother had taught him that. Bobby was a family man through and through, even though he did not know that yet, at least not to that extent. But as much as he loved Alex and Ronny Lee he urgently had to know if the still unnamed child of Nicole Wallace was the fruit of his body, too. It did not matter that he had been forced. What mattered was the child. If she really was his, and he had decided that for himself, he would take care of her. She would not have to live with her biological mother who might kill her anyway. She would live with him and get the love and feeling of security she deserved.

There was just one small flaw in this plan.

Alex.

Bobby knew that he would have more than a hard time trying to convince her that he had to do that for the sake of the baby.

_We'll cross that bridge when we come to it,_ Bobby thought. _For now I want to see her._

A nurse showed him the way to the ward where Nicole was kept in deep sleep. He could see her through the glass walls of her room, hooked up on life supporting machines.

Under the white blankets she looked like a blonde angel. Never before had the devil appeared to be so peaceful.

_I wish she'd find peace. It's her broken soul that made her what she is now. I wonder what she would have become if she had not been abused her whole life._

Then the baby he was about to see would not exist. As sad as Nicole's story was as happy was he that the little girl was born.

Though _happy_ was a strange word to use in this context. Was he _happy_? He was happy when he was with Alex, and now with little Ronny Lee. Would he be happy with Nicole's girl, too?

First he needed confirmation.

He always came back to that thought and he knew that it would be the first thing Alex would demand of him to do, a paternity test.

_But for now I just want to see her._

So he left his lookout at Nicole's room and headed for the children's medical unit. A nurse showed him to the room for the newborns. And there she was. Swaddled and wrapped in a blanket she lay in her crib, tiredly looking out at the world that for now existed only of a light ceiling and bottles filled with warm milk offered by friendly women in colorful scrubs.

_Her eyes are blue,_ he realized with astonishment. _Hmmm, didn't I read somewhere that all babies' eyes appear to be blue. Still I would have thought that she'd have our dark brown eyes._

"I'd love to hold her for a moment," Bobby said.

tbc…


	4. Chapter 4

**Roots and Seeds**

a Law and Order: CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Dick Wolf still has not agreed to sell them, so they're not mine. This is just for fun and practice.

**Chapter**** 4**

"Why didn't you do that earlier, Bobby?" Mike complained. "You knew that you'd need it for about nine months."

They were trying to put a cradle together. According to the manual they needed wooden bolts to connect the single parts, but they were nowhere to be seen.

"There was a bag with the bolts," Bobby insisted. "And I didn't do it earlier because I had a job to do."

"But you certainly were off duty often enough to set up the cradle," Mike grumbled.

Now Bobby stopped his search for the damned bag of bolts and looked at Mike indignantly. As he knelt on the floor, in sport pants and sweater, supporting himself on hands that held a bottle with special glue in his left and one part of the wooden cradle in his right, he offered such an unusual sight that Mike had to chuckle.

"You don't really want to hear all the stories I could tell about mood swings and strange cravings, do you?" Bobby asked seriously. "That would result in a feature-length program."

"Especially as it would turn into kind of a war-story-exchange," Mike smirked. "I'm not so fond of setting up that cradle, but I appreciate the spare time I can spend with you, Bobby."

"Don't you like little Sierra Logan?" Bobby teased. Mike and Carolyn's love child had been born two weeks ago. She was both her parents' pride and joy.

"Oh, I like her," Mike explained. "As long as she's nice and friendly, sleeping in her cradle or suckling her dinner, I like her very much. I _love_ her. She's my daughter, our daughter, and I love her to pieces…" He trailed off. "I just could tear her to pieces when she cries. She can't watch me sit somewhere. She cries. She waits until I'm back home from work to start crying. She keeps crying when I'm trying to relax after a hard day on the job. And the second I pick her up she stops."

This time Bobby was the one who had to chuckle.

"I swear, that girl has it in for me."

Now Bobby laughed goodheartedly.

"Yes, I'm sure she does!" he laughed at Mike. "And I'm quite sure that that will remain that way until you're dying of old age… or maybe when she gets married."

"Married?"

"Yes. And you'll hate her husband, just because he exists, just because he took your little girl away from you."

"She's barely two weeks old!"

"Ah, well… then you know what you have to look forward to."

Mike's jaw dropped. When he could halfway form a coherent thought again he tried to voice it, groaning, "You serious?"

But Bobby just laughed and winked at him before he returned his attention to the cradle. They needed another two hours and one more beer to finish setting it up.

"I can't wait for Ronny Lee to sleep in it," Bobby said as he admired their handiwork. "He's sooo cute. And I'll love him to pieces, too."

"And you'll hate the girl who'll steal him from you?" Mike mused.

"Probably," Bobby admitted.

"Then I should tell Sierra from the very start to keep her hands off your son," Mike remarked so dryly that Bobby choked on his own breath. Coughing hard he tried to regain his composure.

"What did you say?" Bobby gasped when he was optimistic he would be able to form a complete sentence again.

"Well, as they'll grow up like brother and sister they probably won't develop such feelings for each other."

For a moment Bobby was rendered speechless and that did not happen very often. Once he understood what Mike had said in such a serious manner he could not stop himself anymore.

He roared with laughter.

Mike joined in and both men held their sides with laughter until they hardly knew why they were laughing in the first place anymore.

"Now, Mike," Bobby gasped. "Knowing who Sierra's father is I should warn Ronny to fall for her."

Stopped dead in his laughing Mike scowled at Bobby.

"Thank you very much, Detective Goren," he said, his brows knitted over his green eyes. "I'll remember that."

"You're welcome, Mike," Bobby grinned, but it faded fast. Mike's features were hard, unreadable, and suddenly Bobby feared that the banter had ended in disaster.

Seconds ticked away, the men staring at each other. Bobby's eyebrows twitched. He tilted his head to the side, trying to prompt Mike to a reaction… any reaction. But Mike remained silent, just looking at Bobby as though he was deadly insulted.

Then Mike slapped his right thigh.

"I need another beer," he said, still scowling at Bobby, but starting to get up. "You want one, too?"

Bobby squinted up at him incredulously and was about to decline when he noticed the tiniest twitch in the corner of Mike's eye. Just one more look was enough and both doubled over with laughter all over again.

"We should try and get finished. I'll bring Alex and Ronny home tomorrow. I want everything to be perfect then."

"Okay," Mike agreed. "So let's get that beer and then we'll get the rest done."

Bobby smirked and Mike vanished to the kitchen to get their drinks.

That was when the phone rang.

"Goren."

"It's Mac Taylor," the supervisor of CSU's graveyard shift said. "We were securing the evidence at Miss Wallace's motel room."

"I see. You're calling because of the warrant on her for the murder of Evan Chapel?"

"Actually, no, Detective Goren. We have all her belongings here at our lab and we found a letter addressed to you."

"Where did you find it?"

"In one of her bags. It was left behind when she was brought to the hospital by the ambulance."

"Did you open the letter yet?"

"No, Detective. I called you at Major Case, but was told that you have the day off. I thought you would want to know what she has written to you."

"I'll come in, Detective Taylor. Thanks for calling."

"So you are going to the labs now?" Mike asked.

"Yeah."

Bobby looked around the room. He was not finished yet and he suspected that he had a long night ahead.

"You mind if I stay?" Mike wanted to know. "I don't want to waste that just opened beer."

"Make yourself at home, Mike," Bobby said as he grabbed his keys. "I'll go straight to Alex when I'm finished at the labs. So, see you at work."

"Sure. Tell her hi from me."

"I will."

xXx

"Okay, here it is," Detective Mac Taylor said as he handed Bobby the envelope.

Bobby eyed it curiously for a moment before he followed Mac's invitation to take a seat. Once sitting across from the supervisor's desk he took a deep breath and ripped the envelope open. One more breath and he unfolded the letter.

_Dear Bobby,_

_If__ you're reading this something bad has happened, because I rather wanted to __send you a __mail__ including a picture of us__ after I've given birth to our daughter._

_But bad things__ have already happened. Naomi, my beloved Naomi I wanted to raise the little girl with, died in a car crash. And yes, it was a car crash, not me._

_So I'm turning to you to ask you a favor: Please take care of our child._

_I'm as sure as I can be that she is ours. I didn't sleep with anyone but Naomi and you, so you are the only one who c__ould have fathered her._

_Now that I can't be there for her you are the only one she has left, Bobby. She needs you. Please don't push her away because of what I did to you._

_Her name is Naomi, in honor of my beloved partner. Maybe you want to give her a second name. That's okay with me. You are her father so it's your right to have a say in that matter._

_Maybe this is the end. I don't know, but it makes me sad anyway._

_Of all the men I met and used, Bobby, you're the only one I could love. Please be good to our Naomi. She deserves it, though her mother certainly doesn't._

_Goodbye, Bobby._

_Love,_

_Nicole_

Bobby was stunned. He had expected Nicole to insist on him being the father and he was prepared to prove it, and if it was only to get the child away from her, but he had not expected her to downright ask him to claim custody.

_She really must have feared that something would go wrong. Maybe her first pregnancy was difficult, too. Probably that was one more reason for her difficult to non existing relationship with her child._

"Bad news?" Mac asked, interpreting Bobby's expression.

"Yes and no," Bobby murmured, hesitating for a moment. He was not sure how much he should tell the forensic scientist. Last year his team had worked on the scene of the kidnapping. He already knew that Nicole had tried to get pregnant, influenced her period with meds and watched her cycle minutely. So he probably could guess by the fact that Nicole wrote him the letter in the first place that she had to tell him something important. "I just became a father."

"Congratulations."

"Thank you." Bobby chewed on his bottom lip. "I'll forward your good wishes to Alex."

For a second Mac was confused. "I thought Nicole would be the mother," he said, indicating the letter in Bobby's hands.

"My wife Alex gave birth to our son Ronny Lee in the same night as Nicole went into labor with her daughter."

"And you are the father of both?" Mac asked, unable to hide the surprise in his tone.

"It looks like that," Bobby mused. "Nicole believes it and asks me to take care of the baby."

"So that is the bad news, huh?"

"We will see." Thoughtfully Bobby reread the whole letter a second and a third time before he stuffed it back in the envelope. "I'll need a copy of the letter."

Mac nodded. He wondered if the detective would decide to claim custody of the little girl. At least he could take care of her until her mother was released from the hospital. _To be arrested,_ Mac thought. _She'll have to stand trial for the murder of Evan Chapel. So unless Goren accepts his paternity her daughter will be raised in an orphanage or in foster care._

"Did you find anything else?" Bobby asked absently.

"Nothing that would link her with any of the crimes Miss Wallace is wanted for," Mac said. He reached for the letter to copy it on his printer. "She didn't have a lot of clothes with her, but a baby carrier and jumpers, diapers. She was prepared to be a mother. She probably wrote the letter when she realized that her labor could turn out to be life-threatening for her."

"I don't think that that was the reason. She must have planned on having a home birth, with the help of a midwife, I guess," Bobby mused. "Nicole was alone without any support of a partner at all and wouldn't have risked getting the child on her own. She's too egoistic for that."

Mac frowned.

"I don't expect her to care for her baby," Bobby said sadly.

"Why?"

"Just experience." Bobby shrugged. "She's not much of a family person."

"I see." Mac gave him the copy of the letter and Bobby put it away in his inner jacket pocket.

"Thank you for calling, Taylor."

"Anytime."

tbc…


	5. Chapter 5

**Roots and Seeds**

a Law and Order: CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Dick Wolf still has not agreed to sell them, so they're not mine. This is just for fun and practice.

**Chapter**** 5**

"Hello, Bobby."

Alex beamed at him from where she was propped up in the bed. Turning her head to the side she smiled at their little boy in his crib. He was sleeping soundly.

"Hey, Alex."

Bobby went to the bed and sat down in the chair beside it. He was not looking forward to what he wanted to talk about with his wife. It would be a hard conversation.

"Isn't he an angel?"

"Yep," Bobby agreed. Then he grinned roguishly. "Just like his mother."

"Well," Alex said, "with a cherub as his father and an angel as his mother we should always be on guard."

"That's what you're saying."

"Yeah, because an angel plus a cherub doesn't equal a saint."

Bobby chuckled. That was what he loved about Alex, her witty mind. One of many things he loved.

"And? Finished with Ronny's room?" Alex said teasingly, winking at her husband.

"Almost. Something came up. Something important."

"More important than your son?" Alex frowned. "What could that be?"

_Maybe the straight way is the best way,_ Bobby thought. _She'd notice anyway when I tried to stall._

"My daughter."

Alex scowled. She was pretty sure that he did not mix up the genders, so he could only mean Nicole's child. He wanted to go and see her, and now he wanted more than that.

"Okay, Robert Goren. Spit it out!"

There was no way to deny her request.

"I received a letter from Nicole. She let me know that Naomi is my daughter and asked me to take care of her."

"And you want to do it?" Alex blurted out. "Didn't you forget something?"

"I was about to ask you what you think about it."

"Oh, c'mon, Bobby. Stop kidding." Alex straightened up in her pillows. Her voice rose until she reminded herself of their sleeping son. "We both know that it's completely irrelevant what I'm thinking! You already formed your view on that matter. Family always was important for you. I know that, Bobby. I know that there's no way that you would abandon your own flesh and blood!"

That she stopped to draw in a steadying breath was no reason for Bobby to think that she was finished. He knew she was not. They were only married for five months now, but after six years as partners in Major Case he knew her moods and quirks. He knew that she was not done.

"_If_ she is your flesh and blood."

_There we go,_ Bobby thought. _Now it'll get interesting._

"You don't think that I would just believe Nicole without having Rodgers do a paternity test, do you?" he said. "You're insulting me."

"You'll be more than insulted if you won't be reasonable, Bobby." Alex still frowned. "You shouldn't simply take for granted what Miss devil incarnate is telling you."

"I just told you that I will ask Dr. Rodgers to do a paternity test."

"But…?"

"But what?"

"But what do you want to do?" Alex pushed. "Don't even try to placate me. It won't work. You're all excited because all you see is a little girl who might have half of her genes from you, and that makes you forget who gave the other half."

Bobby eyed her intently.

"What are you trying to tell me?" he said. "C'mon, Alex. Don't beat about the bush."

"Okay, I'll tell you. I don't want you to bring that child home with us."

Bobby was thunderstruck. He had expected a certain resistance but not the harsh words she was throwing at his head now. It hurt him to think that Alex could be that cold hearted. He just opened his mouth to object when her hand came up to stop him.

"Wait!" she ordered. "Don't say anything before you hear me out, okay? As I already said, I know that family is important to you. You made up your mind and I don't want that child. We need to find a solution for that problem."

"Alex…"

Helplessly he wrung his hands. So Alex had reached what she wanted, she had his attention.

"Tell me what you wanted to do, Bobby," Alex said urgently. "Because I have a feeling that you did not even think about asking me."

"I did," he tried to assure her. "Alex, I'm sorry if I couldn't make myself understood."

"You're still living alone in your head too much, Bobby," Alex told him. "Let me in."

Confused he scowled and tilted his head to the side. Bobby had thought that they were so much closer now, and she accused him of shutting her out?

"I know that you are so successful solving your riddles because you're deducing so much. You don't get from A over B to C. You know A, deduces C, and then you'll prove getting there by finding B. A is the letter, C is Nicole's baby living with us. You skipped B and B is convincing me. You got me?"

Now he looked thoroughly befuddled.

"I said that I was just about to ask you, Alex. What else do you want?"

"You don't already see her sleeping in a cradle beside Ronny? You don't see her going to the same kindergarten? You don't see yourself walking her down the aisle?"

He blushed.

"I know that you're not doing it consciously. I know that you don't want to hurt me. But I also know that you are as good as always ahead of yourself. Not this time. This time we'll do it at my pace. Okay?"

"Okay."

He waited for her to continue. In fear of saying something wrong he wanted her to talk for them both.

"Tell me what you want to do," Alex prompted him. "But start at the beginning and not at the end of the tale."

"Alex, I'm sorry. I haven't done anything yet. I just have a copy of that letter and the idea to take the girl, Naomi, under our wings."

"How's Nicole doing?"

"She's in an artificial coma. It's too early to tell if she will wake up again." He took a deep breath and fished the letter out of his pocket. "Here, Alex. Please read it."

Reluctantly Alex took the folded paper and opened it. For another moment she hesitated before she started to read. Her left eyebrow jerked up and knitted up to a frown as she kept on reading. She scowled deeply as she read the last lines.

"That doesn't sound like Nicole," she said.

"I know. And it makes me just as suspicious as you."

"Do you really believe that Naomi is your daughter?"

"I have no reason to believe that Nicole lied this time. Sure, it's possible, but why should she?"

"To convince you to take in her bastard."

Too late did Alex notice what she had just said. Bobby's jaws clenched and she saw the tiny twitches in the corners of his eyes.

"I'm sorry," she rushed to say. "I shouldn't have called her a bastard. That was wrong." She swallowed and glanced over at the crib. Fortunately Ronny was still fast asleep. "It just makes me so angry that she manipulated you into this."

"It makes me angry, too, Alex," Bobby agreed. "But we can't hold the baby responsible for what Nicole has done." Thoughtfully he bit his bottom lip. "If Nicole survives she'll have to stand trial and will most likely be convicted and given a life sentence. So Naomi would be without her mother. If Nicole doesn't survive she'll have no one either. Be that as it may you'll have an orphaned child, unless her father claims custody." He paused, waiting for her reaction. "And if I really am her father? In that case I wouldn't only be responsible… I also would have the right to care for her."

Kneading her hands Alex listened to him. She knew all that. She just wanted to be included in the decision.

"At which point did you want to talk with me?" she asked. "That's what you still haven't disclosed. Did you already go and claim custody? Will I find two cradles in Ronny's room when I get home tomorrow?"

"What? No!"

Stunned Bobby stared at her. It was all he could do. This time she thought further ahead than he did.

"I just went to see her," he explained. "I didn't ask anything about custody. I didn't tell anybody about possibly being her father. I couldn't." He shook his head in frustration. "I hadn't talked with you yet." It was so confusing. "I don't understand how you could think for a single moment that I wouldn't discuss that matter with you."

Suddenly Alex blushed as she realized that she did him an injustice.

"Blame the hormones," she choked. "Oh, Bobby. I'm sorry. It was just like after Neal's delivery. It made me testy. You should've told me, interrupted me."

"It's okay, Alex. Never mind."

"So…" she said, contrite. "What did you want to tell me?"

And so Bobby explained to her exactly what he planned to do, including M.E. Elizabeth Rodgers doing a paternity test.

"I just want to ask you for one thing," Alex finally said. "You'll wait until we're settled at home. Then you'll get the test done first. And then, if she confirms that you're Naomi Wallace's father, then we'll talk about her place in our family."

It was a hard ultimatum, but he was determined to do whatever she demanded of him. It was the only way. What Bobby had not told Alex was that there was this feeling deep inside of him. He had sensed it when he held Naomi in his arms. It was so painfully similar to what he felt when he held Ronny.

Naomi was his. It did not matter who had given birth to her. And he did not intend to lose her to Nicole or the system. Even though it was a long and hard way Alex asked him to go, what he would gain was worth the wait.

"I'll come and pick the both of you up tomorrow morning then," Bobby said as he was about to leave, then he bent down to Ronny and breathed a kiss on his forehead. He was not that careful when he kissed Alex goodbye. Her cheeks were flushed when he finally released her. "Take care. I love you."

"I love you, too, Bobby."

tbc…


	6. Chapter 6

**Roots and Seeds**

a Law and Order: CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Dick Wolf still has not agreed to sell them, so they're not mine. This is just for fun and practice.

A/N: Hello! Thanks for your nice reviews. They're greatly appreciated. Here's a little longer one for Saint Nick's Day. Enjoy! :D

**Chapter**** 6**

When Bobby arrived home he reached reflexively for his gun holster. The door was not locked and in an instant he was ready to defend himself. Slowly he stalked deeper into the house, his gun at the ready.

There!

A shadow!

Voices!

Then he scowled. Annoyed he tucked the gun away and entered the kitchen.

"Mike?"

"Hey, Bobby. Surprise!" Mike cheered. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

Actually Bobby did not know how sure _sure_ was. He did not expect to see Mike here and he was even more surprised to see his old friend Lewis stand at the kitchen counter, peeling the foil off some food containers.

"You like Chinese, don't you?" Lewis teased. "All cops like Chinese."

"Not all cops, Lewis," Bobby replied, a grin creeping on his features. He could not help but feel relieved and happy finding his friends in his kitchen. "What are you doing here?"

"Would be nice to have a _Hello, Lewis. Nice to see you. Do you want a beer?_" Lewis chuckled. "And now I get a _What are you doing here,_ instead."

"Well, if I'm not mistaken you already helped yourself to said beer," Bobby grinned. "And yes, Chinese's fine with me."

"Okay! Great! So sit down with us and have a drink!" Mike held up his bottle. "We want to celebrate."

"I'd love to, but I can only have dinner, then I'll have to finish the nursery."

"Which nursery?" Lewis asked innocently. "The one upstairs first door on the right side?"

"Yeah, that one," Bobby told him. "If I'm not done by the time Alex comes home with Ronny tomorrow I'm a dead man."

Lewis laughed. "I have no idea what you're talking about, man. I like it. Wish I could be a kid again."

"What are you talking about?" Bobby asked, confused. "Trying to pick on me? I still have to get some order in that chaos."

Without waiting for his friends he spun on his heels and hurried up the stairwell. In the door to Ronny's room he stopped dead and his jaw dropped to his chest.

"What have you done?" he gasped. "Mike? Lewis?"

"Do you like it?" Mike asked, taking the last steps to stop right behind his co-worker. "The bed was Lewis' idea."

"But…"

Stunned Bobby stumbled forward and looked around. The cradle he had set up together with Mike stood under the window that was covered with dark blue curtains. Stars speckled the fabric that fell in neat folds. It looked pretty. In the right corner of the room was the changing table, the cupboard for Ronny's clothes right beside it. And to Bobby's left side was a bed that was every little boy's dream. The frame was painted red and the sides and head were formed like a 1965 Corvette C2 Sting Ray. It just was incredible.

"But…" Bobby choked. "How… how did you make that bed so fast? I was only gone for the afternoon."

"I built it at home, Bobby," Lewis chuckled, leaning against the door frame with a quite pleased smile splitting his face. "I only had to sneak it in here. So it was good that you had to leave earlier for your stop at the precinct. Otherwise I would've had to bring it for the welcome home party. It's better this way."

"I don't know what to say." Bobby admitting _that_ happened less often than his being left speechless at all.

"I think the most common phrase would be _Thank you_," Mike teased.

Still Bobby could hardly talk. His voice was hoarse with emotion and surprise. "Thank you, guys."

"Anytime," Mike said, grinning. "Besides, Caro would not let me come home when I told her that you unexpectedly went to the office. She wanted to come along, too, but then she would have had to bring Sierra. I think they were better off at home."

"Probably." Bobby still could not tear his eyes off the new interior of the children's room.

"Um… Bobby?" Mike asked tentatively. "Could we have dinner now? I'm starving."

That comment made Bobby laugh out loud.

"When aren't you famished? You're hoggish like a ten-headed caterpillar."

Lewis joined in the laughter at Mike's expense. It was so good to see his friend in such a good mood. Since his wedding he had not been as broody as he used to be, and Lewis was happy for him.

"So, what did you bring for dinner?" Bobby asked, turning to go downstairs with them.

"Chicken Szechuan, spring rolls, duck something ineffable, and fish sweet and sour," Mike counted on the fingers of his hand. "Oh, and those chips… um… what are they called again?"

"Kropoek," Bobby provided. "But you can call them prawn crackers."

Lewis's grin grew even wider and Mike fled down the flight of stairs to vanish in the kitchen.

"You're enjoying that, don't you?" Bobby laughed at his friend from childhood days.

"Yep. You aren't?"

"Oh, I enjoy it alright." His Cheshire grin only confirmed that. "Mike's predestined for jokes of all kinds."

"He doesn't mind his role as jester?" Lewis wanted to know.

"Oh, we're taking turns," Bobby chuckled and went into the kitchen, too, where he dropped down in a chair, reaching for the bowl with crab chips. Taking a bite of the unusually big crackers he leaned back. Then he beamed at Mike. "This is great. Where did you get it?"

"New place," Mike replied and read from the box with spring rolls, "Van Hung's Garden of Delicacies."

"Let's see if his food compares to what the chips are promising." Bobby grabbed the dish with chicken Szechuan and took a bite of meat and rice together. "Hmmmm."

"Looks like that was a good idea," Mike smirked at Lewis. "And you wanted Italian."

"Equally good," Lewis retorted and dug into the duck, leaving the fish for Mike.

"Yummy."

xXx

Alex never knew what happened when Bobby brought her home the following day. Though everything had started out well. He had stopped by at the other hospital to see how Nicole Wallace and Naomi were doing. Nothing had changed. Nicole still was in a coma. Naomi was doing well. Then Bobby had picked Alex and Ronny up. After a short stop at their local supermarket where Bobby went obediently to get a few additional diapers, baby powder and a small night light Alex insisted on needing, having forgotten to get before. Once he returned with the requested items they could finally drive home.

When Bobby helped Alex out of the car, took the baby seat, and brought his family inside he and Alex had expected to find her sister Fiona as well as Carolyn Logan, but as they strolled into the hall they could hear the excited voices of several women, none of them being Fiona or Caro's. Dread filled Alex when she hung up her coat because right at that moment a plethora of words waved out of the living room. She knew that voice. Alex rolled her eyes.

Bobby just had time to draw in a breath, but his question died in his throat as his wife barged into the living room.

"What are _you_ doing here?" she demanded to know.

Aunt Josephine and Aunt Penelope bristled. They perched on both sides of Alex's mother Helen on the broad sofa and beamed up at their niece.

"Alexandra! There you are! Come here darling and let us hug you!"

"We're so happy for you. Now you have a family of your own!"

"Where is the little lump of sweetness?" Aunt Josephine pushed. "We want to welcome him, sweetheart."

"I don't care what you want!" Alex spat. She was thoroughly fed up with the old spinsters. Last December, just before she was kidnapped by Nicole Wallace, they had mourned her for not being married and then they had wailed about Bobby being unstable and not the right association for her. Alex had exploded and left the Advent coffee at her parents' home. Since Alex got married they were all over her, fussing, flattering, hoping that they would finally get the grand nephew or grand niece they were waiting for. Alex could not stand that bigotry.

"Alexandra!" Aunt Penelope panted.

Aunt Josephine could just clap her hand over her careless mouth.

"I don't care! And I mean it!" Alex growled.

In the door to the kitchen she saw Fiona, hiding her smirk behind her hand and a dish towel. Her sister was not fond of their aunts either. Briefly she wondered what Bobby might be thinking and decided that he probably would smirk, too.

"You never had anything good to say about Bobby. In your opinion he never was good enough for me! Why would you be interested in our son?" The venom in her voice surprised even herself. She glanced at her mother who sat between her sisters in law and tried to put a good face on the matter. "Are Bobby and I really supposed to believe that you care? You either change your attitude or you can go right back where you came from!"

_I'll hold the door,_ Bobby thought, biting the inside of his cheek so as to not laugh out loud. Alex was magnificent in her rage.

"C'mon," Alex prodded. "Take your fake friendliness and take it home."

"Alex?" her mother asked tentatively, getting up and going over to the kitchen.

"Mom?" Alex followed her.

Conspiratorially Helen Eames leaned toward Alex and whispered, "Would it hurt to let them have a look at Ronny?"

"Mom! I had a reason to ask for privacy upon coming home!" Alex argued in a hushed voice. She meant it to be passionate, but it sounded rather lame. Tiredness crept in her bones.

"Alex, just for a minute?"

"We both know that it's not done in a minute, not even in five minutes, when we let them fuss over Ronny!" Fiona came to Alex's aid.

The women vanished into the kitchen now, to get out of earshot.

Bobby still stood in the door to the hall. He had put down Ronny's carrier on the ground beside the coat rack where the women could not spot him. Bobby looked down at their son who blinked up at him and smiled. At least Bobby interpreted it like that.

_His first smile,_ Bobby cheered inwardly. _He's smiling at me!_

Squinting at Alex's aunts he noticed how they put their heads together. Reading their body language he knew that they were talking about him, and he was pretty sure that it was nothing nice.

Actually Bobby wondered why they were not swarming him already. They could easily imagine that the boy was with him when Alex did not bring him in. So why did they not come and demand to see their grandnephew. Deciding that it could hardly get worse Bobby picked up the carrier and ventured into the living room. It helped that he did not care for the aunts. All he cared about were Alex and Ronny.

"Aunt Penny, Aunt Josie," he greeted nonchalantly, knowing that they would be deathly insulted… and would choke it down because he gave them what they lusted for. "It's so nice to see you. Meet Ronny Lee Goren." His smile was as artificial as his friendliness and they did not notice either. The old hens only had eyes for the child.

"Awww!"

Both were fussing over the boy in seconds. Josephine pulled a little on the carrier to make Bobby put it down on the coffee table. Confused Ronny looked from one to the other in turns.

"You named him Ronny?" Penelope asked. "Is that short for Ronald?"

"For Ragnvald," Bobby said as seriously as he could manage. "That's Scottish." _And means just the same as Ronald,_ he thought, grinning inwardly.

"Gootchy-gootchy-goo," said Josephine, hovering over Ronny who looked increasingly confused. Instinctively he tried to catch the finger waggling in front of his nose.

"Where is our little baby boy?" cooed Penelope, tickling Ronny's side, and the child attempted to wriggle away which was impossible in the baby carrier.

_Show some good taste, son. _Bobby watched with rising anger. Time to get rid of the witches. A sudden yawn from Ronny was his cue.

"He's tired," Bobby declared. "He needs to sleep. Why don't we give him some space?"

And before they even knew what happened to them Bobby helped Aunt Penelope and Aunt Josephine into their coats and complimented them out through the front door.

_Phew!_

Bobby rushed back to the living room to take care of Ronny, but his worries were unfounded. The little boy already was fast asleep.

"That's my boy," Bobby praised with undisguised pride and strolled to the kitchen where the women still were talking.

"I won't change my mind, mom!" Alex just complained. "And I don't want to argue about it anymore. I just want to settle in with Ronny. Let us simply arrive home first before we offer tours to the children's room."

"He's asleep now," Bobby threw in softly, going over to Alex and taking her in his arms from behind. Then he planted a kiss on the top of her head.

That made Fiona smile.

"Did you leave him alone with them?!" Alex gasped and started to writhe out of his embrace, but Bobby would not let her.

"They're gone, Alex," he told her, tightening his hold slightly. "You can relax now. Do you want some tea? Or anything else?"

"Thanks, Bobby. Tea would be wonderful."

"Okay, as good as done. Fruit or herbs?"

"I'd like a big cup of blood orange tea," she said, gently shoving his arms aside to turn around and kiss his stubbled cheek. "I'll go to Ronny, ok?"

"Sure, do that," Bobby agreed.

Alex smiled lovingly at him before she returned to the living room. Fiona and Helen watched the display fondly. They really liked Bobby and knew how good he was for Alex. They were glad to welcome him in their family.

tbc…


	7. Chapter 7

**Roots and Seeds**

a Law and Order: CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Dick Wolf still has not agreed to sell them, so they're not mine. This is just for fun and practice.

A/N: Thank you for your nice comments. Happy Second Advent! :)

**Chapter**** 7**

"I'll go," Fiona said when the doorbell rang. Just a moment later she was back with Carolyn.

"Hello, Bobby," she said, beaming at him. "Mrs. Eames."

"Hey, Carolyn." Bobby was still not really used to calling her by first name. She had left Major Case to go to the U. S. Marshal Service and back then their relationship was purely work based, so he called her Barek. Then she and Alex were kidnapped by Nicole and not long after their rescue Barek got together with Logan. After their wedding Bobby finally had to get used to calling her Carolyn. He managed well, but for unknown reasons it still felt slightly odd. Maybe because she always had that professional air about her that tempted him to fall back into old habits.

Anyway, he smiled down at the baby carrier in her hand where Sierra was sleeping soundly.

"Alex and Ronny are in the living room," Bobby told her.

"Yeah, I saw her as I passed the hall."

"I was about to make tea. Would you like a cup?"

"Tea would be fine, Bobby. Thank you."

Questioningly he looked at Fiona and Helen who both nodded.

"Why don't you go and sit with Alex while I make the tea?" Bobby asked. "You'll certainly have a lot to talk about."

"That's quite possible," Carolyn agreed, smiling lovingly at her daughter.

"Yeah, and as you all are mothers now it most likely will be boring for the poor husband," Bobby teased. "So go on. I'll be alright here."

"You come over, too, and have a drink with us, proud daddy," Carolyn said cheerfully. "You can't hide in the kitchen. If you're not with us in ten minutes I'll come and get you."

"Okay," he smirked and picked up the electric kettle to boil the water for their tea while the women went into the living room.

For Bobby it still was something he had to get used to. Growing up he had often been the one who got ignored, which was not that bad after all because every time he was not ignored by his father he got spanked. When his older brother Frankie did not ignore him he beat the shit out of him. Only mom seemed to care for him, but that lessened when she got sick. It had not taken long for Bobby to realize that she was different from other moms. Once her schizophrenia got really bad little Bobby suddenly found himself in the role of caring for her while his father was either at the race track losing their tight money betting on horses or in bed with a younger woman. And then Frances's delusions worsened and Bobby got kicked around by her, too, when she believed that the devil had taken possession of him. It really was no surprise that Frankie fled home at the first opportunity. Frank senior did not stay much longer and Bobby was left alone with his sick mother. He finished school as best as he could before the need for earning money drove him into joining the army where he ended up in the Criminal Investigation Division. Meeting his mentor Declan Gage there led him to his destination: being a cop.

Given that kind of upbringing a healthy family life was something completely new to Bobby. His first Christmas with Alex's family as her future husband already had been different from the Christmases he had spent with them as her duty partner. Their warm welcome in the circle of family astonished him and made him uncomfortable at first. He had to grow into it slowly. Alex always was there when he needed her… and kept her distance when he needed to be alone for a moment. Bobby appreciated that and loved her even more for it.

Bobby also loved John and Helen Eames and grew very fond of Fiona and Neal, Alex's nephew. He and Collin tended to disagree, but they basically liked each other.

So Bobby experienced for the first time in his life a true family.

Four mugs with a tea bag in each of them were now lined up on the kitchen counter. Bobby filled them with hot water and poured himself a fifth mug with instant cappuccino.

He hesitated to join the women in the living room. Peeking through the door he saw them on the sofa and easy chairs surrounding the coffee table. Alex had put the baby carrier with Ronny on the place beside her on the couch. Fiona sat on the other side, watching the little boy with a fascinated smile. Carolyn perched in an easy chair, Sierra in her carrier in front of her on the table. Helen watched them from the chair on the other side of the coffee table.

Bobby glanced at her a second time. Alex's mother looked quite content, relaxed and in absolute peace with her life and the women across the room who were part of it. Something Bobby had searched for all of his life. He never knew the feeling of security and safety upon coming home from a bad day at school, or after a fight with older kids. His family was not the sanctuary it was supposed to be. Before he could relax in his room he had to make sure that neither his father nor Frances were in a mood and if they were he had to carefully avoid them and make himself as invisible as possible, do his chores and be as inoffensive as a piece of furniture. Peaceful times Bobby spent at another's home: Lewis's.

The thought of Lewis made Bobby smile. His friend had completely surprised him with the fancy bed he had made for Ronny.

_He must have begun building it when I confided to him that we already knew the gender._ Bobby chuckled. _Alex would freak if she knew that I showed the ultrasonic scan to him. If the girls find out about that they'd never let me live it down._

Looking at the pots he decided that the color of tea was right and took the bags out. Then he placed the mugs together with a bowl of sugar and teaspoons on a tray and carried everything into the living room. There he put the tray down on the coffee table and dealt out the mugs.

"Thank you, Bobby," Helen said as she accepted her tea from him and offered him a wide smile.

"Anytime," he said, returning her smile wholeheartedly.

"You're a peach, Bobby," Fiona smirked. "If I wouldn't have Collin…"

"Hey! Are you flirting with my husband?" Alex exploded in mock protest.

Fiona beamed at Bobby and said with a mischievous wink, "Some flirting should always be allowed."

"It is, Fiona, it is," Bobby played her game with her. "As long as we eat at home." And with that he winked at Alex, pushing her tea mug into her outstretched hand.

"Thank you, sweetheart," Alex purred and kept the mug hovering over the tray until Bobby put four teaspoons of sugar into it, too. Smirking broadly she rewarded him with a blown kiss.

"Good that you're too young to be flirting, sweetie," Carolyn said to her daughter.

"She's espoused to Ronny anyway," Bobby chuckled, remembering his talk with Mike the previous day.

"What?" gasped Carolyn.

"What?" panted Alex.

Now Bobby laughed out loud. "Just kidding. Mike teased me with our kids flirting with each other yesterday."

"Flirting?" Carolyn scowled. "How are they supposed…"

"When they're in high school," Bobby added, still chuckling. Taking his cappuccino he settled down on the other sofa. Sipping contentedly he mused that his life now was anything but bad. Then he remembered Naomi and the shadow she cast over their perfect life. Bobby followed the conversation of the women only peripherally until he heard Alex say, "I think he's tired. I should feed him and bring him to bed."

She rose from the couch and picked up the baby carrier with her son. Ronny yawned widely.

"Did you already see the room Bobby has prepared for him?" Alex asked. "He wouldn't let me in. Said it was a surprise."

Bobby smirked.

"Now, go ahead," he said. "It's finished."

"You sure?" Alex teased. "I don't want to step in just to land my foot in a paint can."

Goodheartedly Bobby laughed about her joke. "It's all done. Go and be astonished."

Tilting her head to the side in a way not unlike Bobby's Alex scowled at him.

"You're hiding something," she said.

"Me? Never!" he protested and smirked.

So Alex pivoted around to go and climb the stairs.

"Well, let's go and see what Bobby has done," Helen said, slapping her thighs. She resolutely got up and strode after her daughter.

"Oh! My! God!"

Alex's shriek had also Carolyn and Fiona jump up and storm up the stairs.

"What's wrong?" Fiona demanded to know, her voice high with worry.

"What did he do?" Carolyn panted.

_Too bad that I can't see her face,_ Bobby thought as he got up now, too, a small smile playing around his lips. Then he followed upstairs. When he reached the children's room the women stood in the middle letting their gazes wander around the room.

"This is incredulous!" Alex panted, finding Bobby standing under the doorframe and raising her hands in a helpless gesture at him.

Ronny's carrier stood at her feet and Bobby feared that Alex would trip over it when she stepped toward the cradle, but she easily avoided it. So Alex first examined the cradle beneath the window, the changing table and cupboard and the curtains. Then she turned to the rest of the room. The main lamp was a pretty titan and glass frame in different shades of blue that shone its light at the ceiling, so that it was bright but still indirect and inoffensive to the eyes.

Another highlight was the easy chair in the right inner corner. A low table stood beside it where Alex could put anything down from a pacifier, over a mug of tea to her current favorite book. Right now Alex could not withstand and sank into the soft chair.

"Awww, is that cool!" she exclaimed as she pushed herself backwards, making the chair rock. It was perfectly balanced and easy to move with little effort. So it would soothe both, mother and baby, when Alex sat in it to feed her little boy.

"I'm quite certain that I know who made the bed," Carolyn smirked at Bobby.

Barely taking his eyes off Alex Bobby winked at his former co-worker. He always had liked Carolyn Barek Logan. She was a fascinating woman, as attractive as her mind was witty and she was a brilliant profiler.

"No one less than the famous Lewis body-shop owner, car tinkering best buddy of Bobby famous Major Case Squad New York detective who's helplessly in love with me," Alex chuckled, stretching languorously in the chair. "But you chose this one, right, Bobby?"

"Yes, I did," he smiled, happy that his surprise had the desired effect on her.

"The bed's taking the cake," Fiona laughed to herself. "Do you have any idea how Lewis made it?"

"He told me that the base is a children's bed he bought. All features are still functioning. You can add bars as long as Ronny is too little and might fall out of the bed. Lewis has made a second frame to attach the car body he made from glass fiber. I have no idea, though, how he made it. But he always was a genius with cars."

"Yeah, he is," Alex agreed. Then she chuckled. "I'm so glad that you popped the question when you did. Lewis always made sure to let me know that I wouldn't forget him. Imagine what might have happened if you wouldn't have asked."

"Oh, my god," Bobby panted in mock shock. "Don't plant such images in my head!"

"I don't need that imagination either," Helen said, looking at Bobby compassionately. She wondered if he knew that all the time.

"He never let me forget it, either," Bobby smirked. "Lewis was in love with you from the moment you accompanied me to his body shop and showed off your knowledge about cars… but, he also told me the moment he realized that you were more for me than my duty partner that he would stand back."

Alex smiled at him lovingly. "You really are best friends."

"Forever."

There was something in his smile. Alex thought that he was lost in reverie or memories. She knew that his relationship with his childhood friend was something really special. He loved Lewis. She suspected that he might love him more than Frankie. Bobby and his brother did not have a healthy relationship. His gambling addiction stood in stark contrast to Bobby's profession. If she was honest with herself Lewis certainly had been a better brother to Bobby than Frankie ever was or would be.

A wide yawn of Ronny caught all adults' attention.

"I think I should bring him to bed," Alex said. "I'll come downstairs when he's settled, okay?"

"Sure, Alex," Fiona said. "We're in the living room."

She, Helen and Carolyn left the room while Alex held back her husband with a quick gesture.

"Come here, Bobby Bear," she said and spread her arms wide to welcome him in an embrace. "This is awesome."

"Really?"

His slightly insecure tone almost made her slap him.

"Yes, really," she grumbled. "It's perfect." And reaching up for his neck she pulled him down for a kiss. It was brief and chaste, their lips barely touching, and yet it sent chills down both their spines. Alex felt the jolts it caused and chuckled. One glance down confirmed that he reacted not that differently from her. "Is that a promise?" she teased, reaching out for his obvious excitement.

Sucking in a sharp breath Bobby squinted down at her over the tip of his nose.

"If you want me to…" he said, leaving the decision to her.

Alex sighed. "I'm not sure if it's such a great idea, though it is tempting."

Bobby smirked.

"Some cuddling is always within the possibilities, right?" he winked at his wife. _Wife_. He still had to get used to that.

"I do hope so," Alex chuckled, stretching to reach him.

As he enveloped her middle she wrapped her arms around his neck and they deepened the kiss. This time they did not hesitate. There was no hovering anymore. Their lips pressed together, moving, teasing the other with the tips of their tongues, until Bobby granted Alex access and their tongues danced around each other, exploring their oral cavities.

Then Ronny demanded his share of attention, finally making himself noticed with distinct wails. Only reluctantly his parents broke their kiss.

"That's the wrong moment, my son," she scolded him lovingly.

Bobby smiled and that smile held the earlier promise.

"I'll take you up on that," Alex threatened good-naturedly and ushered him out of the room.

tbc…


	8. Chapter 8

**Roots and Seeds**

a Law and Order: CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Dick Wolf still has not agreed to sell them, so they're not mine. This is just for fun and practice.

**Chapter**** 8**

At late noon Helen, Fiona and Carolyn left the young family so that they could finally settle down. Once the last one was out of the door Alex silently went upstairs to check on Ronny who slept peacefully in his wooden cradle.

"He's such an angel," she said dreamily as she returned to Bobby and settled down beside him on the couch. "He really seldom screams. Let's hope that he'll stay that calm."

"He must have that from you," Bobby said thoughtfully.

"Oh, I'm sure that he doesn't. Mom always told me that I was a hyperactive baby. It didn't become better as a kid. I had to keep up with my brother, and I rather played with boys instead of with girls."

"Guess it runs in the family."

"Yeah, so let's just hope that Ronny won't become restless."

She adjusted the baby phone on the coffee table before she leaned against Bobby. Pulling up her legs she snuggled into his side. Smiling contentedly he put his arm around her slender form. Bobby's hand found its way down her shoulder to her firm breast, fascinatingly and wonderfully larger due to the fact she was breastfeeding their baby. With his index finger he traced the contours and slowly circled to the center where he found an erect nub.

"As restless as you…" Alex teased.

"I'm afraid I can't deny that," Bobby chuckled, teasing her further, drawing a gasp out of her. Then he shifted his position and pulled her into a tighter embrace.

"Bobby?" she hesitantly asked. "Do you want something from me?"

He did not answer at once. That only resulted in her being convinced that something was up.

"Spit it out."

_Damn, she's perceptive,_ he thought. _Though, I wanted to bring the subject up._ So he rather hesitantly told her, "I… asked Rodgers to do the test."

"When?" was all Alex replied.

"When I go visit Naomi this afternoon." Absently he kept caressing her. "Do you want to come with me?"

"Actually, no. I don't."

He could not resent that decision. Maybe she would change her mind when the test result was positive.

_If the test result is positive,_ Bobby reminded himself. _It's still possible that I'm not Naomi's father. Even though it clearly feels as if she's mine._

Bobby sighed. Why did his life have to be that complicated? As if it had not been bad enough already? Finally it appeared to get better and now…

"There's something else on my mind," he admitted.

"And that is…?"

For a long moment she waited for him to make up his mind or find the courage to talk with her. She did not know why he still believed in having to keep her off of himself. She knew him pretty well, so she did not expect him to stonewall her. Why did he still have to be like that? They were together, they were a family. In moments like this she had to remind herself of his inward nature and that, once he made up his mind, he would talk eventually.

"I thought about Frankie. I… I don't want… I shouldn't do to him what he did to me. He should have the right to know about Ronny and to see him if he wants to."

Letting the words linger for a moment she caressed his hand that now rested on her waist, smiling to herself.

"I think that's a good idea," she told him then.

"You think so?" he said worriedly. "He's a gambling, alcohol, and drug addict. I haven't seen him since the day I was at his place. That was right after Tates. I was suspended, I was alone, I was hurt. And I didn't have what I did it for, I didn't have Donny! I still have no idea where my nephew is. God, Alex! Why didn't Frankie tell me that he has a son? Things might never have developed like they did. Maybe Donny wouldn't have gotten into trouble in the first place if we knew about each other!

"Damnit! I told Frankie that, if someone told me he was about to jump off a bridge I would wait for the splash. I was so damned angry at him that I might have pushed him!" Bobby was talking himself into a temper. "I know that I probably wouldn't have made a change," he admitted, "but… if I knew about Donny I could at least have tried. By not telling me Frankie robbed me of all the years I could have watched Donny grow up. He's part of the family. Even though we might not have seen each other that regularly, we would know that the other is there. Donny would have known someone to turn to." He paused. "I blame Frankie for that even though I know that it was pure thoughtlessness. He can't get a grip on his own life, so how could I expect him to help his son. I don't want to seek contact with my brother just to have to break it again because he might endanger you or Ronny."

"Bobby…"

"I know what you want to say," he cut her off before she had any chance to contradict him. First he had to confide in her the rest of his musings. "That he still is my brother, part of the family. A part of me still loves him. I'll always love him. But… Alex, I don't know what I would do if he got you or Ronny hurt, intentionally or unintentionally, physically or emotionally."

_Ah, that's where he's coming from,_ she thought. _He's made a point there…_

"I still think that it's a good idea to refresh the contact with Frank," Alex said. "Seriously. You don't know if he has changed. Maybe he stayed the course with his last withdrawal treatment. Maybe he just hasn't contacted you because he's equally stubborn."

"I'm not being stubborn right now!" Bobby growled.

Alex shifted her position so that her head and shoulders rested in his lap and she could look up at him.

"Are you sure?"

He scowled. "Maybe a little. But first of all I'm trying to make the right decision. My heart tells me that Frankie is family and that he belongs with us. My head tells me that we can't trust him as long as he did not at least start to change."

"Don't you think that it's possible that the knowledge about his nephew might already make a change? Maybe he would try to better himself if he knew about him."

"He didn't change for his own son," Bobby said. "What makes you think that he would change for Ronny?"

"It's still worth the try."

"Are you trying to talk me into seeing him again?"

"No." Alex played with one of his jacket buttons.

"So you think that the idea is not that good after all?"

"I think that it's a great idea to include him."

Confused he stared down into her fascinating eyes, trying to find a hint of what she really wanted to say. She took his chin between two fingers and caressed his neck.

"Bobby. He's your brother. He's family. Do whatever you think is best. If you contact him I'll welcome him in the family. If you want to keep your distance I won't go to him behind your back." She looked at him distinctly. "I'll support you in your decisions. I just ask you to consider them with care. Don't dismiss the idea of getting in touch with him again just because you shy back from the possible consequences."

Bobby frowned.

"I don't shy back from consequences. You know that."

"Oh, how could I forget that after Tates," she teased. "You can say that you _are_ a consequence."

That made Bobby chuckle until it died in his throat.

"I don't know what to do."

Smiling up at him lovingly Alex told him what he needed to hear, "Call Frank."

xXx

Bobby stood in front of the entrance of the hospital and stared at his cell phone. For several minutes he stood like that before he typed in Frankie's number… to abort the call at the last second.

"Dammit!" he cursed silently to himself and looked around to see if someone noticed. Not that he cared, he was just curious.

One look at his watch told him that he was still early. He could try to call again before he had his appointment for taking the samples for the paternity test.

_Once more. C'mon, Bobby._

Taking a deep breath he lifted the cell phone again. It took another moment before he could push the buttons.

It rang.

And rang.

And still rang.

He got neither an answer nor a mail box, so he canceled the call again.

_I shouldn't be relieved, should I?_ he wondered. _Man, he's my brother. It shouldn't be so difficult… or so painful._

Sighing he switched the cell phone on silent alert and put it away. Then he went into the hospital and to the children's medical unit where he checked on Naomi first. He sat in a chair beside her cradle, rocking the little girl in his arms, when someone else entered the room. Looking up he recognized Lindsay Monroe and beside her was the nurse who showed Bobby in before. Monroe was with CSU, which surprised Bobby. He had expected someone from the medical examiner's office.

"Hello, Monroe," he greeted.

"Detective Goren." She fleetingly smiled at him before her gaze was drawn to the little girl in his arms. "What a sweet angel," she said. "Hello, little one."

Bobby smirked. Yes, she was a cute baby.

"Wait a few minutes," the nurse threw in. "Then she'll start to scream again."

"I would scream, too, if I was alone in my bed most of the day," Lindsay said.

"It's not that," the nurse told her. "She just screams. I'm surprised that she's so silent right now."

"What do you mean, she just screams?" Bobby demanded to know.

"Just that. She _loves_ to scream. She screams endlessly."

"You mean like a crack baby?"

"It's comparable, but not what I mean. Maybe it will lessen over the time, but so far she's simply an excessive screamer. Some babies are just like that."

Bobby frowned. That was not a nice thought. Right now she snuggled in his arm, yawning contentedly. _Maybe you just need your parents,_ he thought. _Someone who truly loves you and who you can rely on._

"Okay," Lindsay said. "I'll need a blood sample from you and the baby."

"I'll do that," the nurse replied and came forward with two syringes. Professionally she took blood from Naomi and Bobby and handed the samples to Lindsay. "There you go."

"Thanks. I need to go again, bring the samples to Dr. Rodgers. She'll let you know the results as soon as possible."

"Thanks, Monroe," Bobby said, offering her one of his famous smiles.

"Anytime."

When she was gone Bobby stayed a little longer with Naomi. The baby girl giggled happily when he played with her. Her eyes sparkled with joy. Just sometimes, in fleeting moments, he thought he saw her mother in her small features.

_My eyes are playing tricks on me,_ he thought. _It's nothing but my imagination. Everyone knows that I have a vivid imagination._

_Imagination._

He stumbled over his own thoughts.

_Probably it's that. My imagination amplifies my fears. Do I really think that Frankie, my brother, could hurt my son?_

He looked down at Naomi who still was silent.

"What do you think, hm? Should I try again to contact your uncle?"

Naomi looked up at him out of clear dark eyes and nodded, reaching up for him with her right arm.

"Yeah, baby. It's okay. I'm here," he said, lifting her up. "And I'll be back for you tomorrow, okay? I have something important to do now."

So he put her down in her cradle and tucked her in before he said goodbye to her and the nurse.

tbc…


	9. Chapter 9

**Roots and Seeds**

a Law and Order: CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Dick Wolf still has not agreed to sell them, so they're not mine. This is just for fun and practice.

A/N: Okay, the first chapters developed a little slowly. Let's see if we can't change that. Special thanks to _Bammi1_ for beta-reading. Enjoy!

**Chapter**** 9**

It was late afternoon when Bobby strolled down a street in Brooklyn. How he got there he hardly knew. Suddenly he found himself here and he was drawn to one of the run-down houses. The neighborhood was not one of the most dangerous ones, but it still harbored many dubious people.

No one had answered Bobby's repeated calls and so he got increasingly agitated which resulted in him stopping by. Now he stood in front of the house and could not decide to go inside.

_Oh, c'mon, Bobby. Don't chicken out now!_

So he grabbed the handle and pushed the door open. The stairwell was run-down, too, but it was clean as far as he could see. He climbed up to the third floor and found the door to Frankie's apartment. His knocks on the door remained as unanswered as his calls.

"Frankie?" Bobby shouted. "Frankie, it's me, Bobby!"

Still no reaction.

Usually Bobby would have assumed that his brother just was not home, but something held him back from just turning around and leaving. A peculiar feeling settled in his stomach and he wondered what it was. Leaning closer to the door he sniffed.

A deep frown creased his forehead.

His insides started to rumble with anxiety. He sensed that something had happened, he just could not tell what it was.

"Frankie?"

No answer.

When Bobby tried the door he was not really surprised that it opened to his half-hearted attempts at breaking in. He just had rattled on it a little and the lock gave way.

"Frankie?"

Pushing the door open Bobby knew at once that he would never get an answer again. He was way too familiar with the smell that greeted him.

"Frankie," he breathed tonelessly.

He did not even draw his weapon. By the stench alone he could tell that no one else was there. No one just sat around where it smelled so distinctly like death.

Bobby found his brother in the living room, sprawled on the sofa. Given the state his body was in Bobby did not have to be a medical examiner to know that he had been dead for days. Slapping his hand over his mouth Bobby staggered backwards into the wall.

_No!_

Over and over the scream repeated itself inside of him. His ribcage felt like a broad belt was ever tightening around it, squeezing hard, and his heart pounded as if it would burst out of his chest. He could not breathe. Guilt formed a cold hard lump in his stomach.

It took a few minutes before he was able to call the police.

xXx

"Dead?" Alex could not believe it.

Now she could also not believe that she had been angry with him that he came home so late… without the groceries he was supposed to buy. He had called earlier and told her that he would come back a little later because he wanted to stop by at his brother's place because the jerk avoided his calls, and when Bobby did not come back Alex started to worry. Frank once had stabbed his brother when Bobby did not want to help him out with money that he would only have taken to the race track or bought drugs.

When Bobby came into Ronny's room where Alex was rocking in her new chair with Ronny in her arms, giving him his dinner, he had been short with her and she became angry.

Now that Alex sat on the sofa in the living room and heard about the reason she felt foolish.

"Yes. It looks like an overdose. Rodgers will do an autopsy."

"Oh, Bobby, I'm sorry," Alex said. "I'm sorry that I reacted so angrily earlier and I'm sorry for your loss."

He just nodded.

Slumping in his favorite easy chair Bobby just stared ahead. He had not said much since he was back home. He just sat there, fixating a spot on the floor, or rather a place in another galaxy.

Minute after minute passed in silence until Alex felt the urge to break it. So she told him, "You had the right to be angry with him."

Bobby did not react and she wondered if he actually heard her.

"Bobby?"

Nothing.

"It's not your fault that he's dead."

"Too late," Bobby murmured so lowly that Alex almost missed it had he not moved his lips.

"What's too late, Bobby?"

But he continued to stare at unknown places or passed times.

"You're angry at him for leaving you behind like that, right?"

"Too late," he just whispered.

Still Alex was not sure what he meant by that. Her direct question got no answer out of him. She sighed, fearing that she probably would have a long night ahead, waiting for him to start talking. Knowing Bobby she also expected it to become a long conversation.

"M-my… decision," he suddenly murmured. "I… I called too late."

"You mean he already was dead before you even tried to reach him?" With dread Alex awaited his response.

"Yes."

"Oh."

She was not sure how to react. Alex just wanted to go to him and hug him, tell him that everything would be alright, but a voice in the back of her head warned her. He would not take it well if she searched for closeness with him right now.

"I guess…" Silence. "Rodgers will have to confirm it, but… I think that he was already… dead when… when Ronny was born."

_Oh, my God._

Alex bit back any comment.

"When we… I found dates entered in his calendar, group meetings. He went to drug counseling." Bobby sniffled. His voice was toneless. "But on the coffee table was a crack pipe. He was still using."

Glad that he finally started to talk Alex did not dare to interrupt him now, or prod him with questions as he fell silent again. She knew that he would talk eventually.

"One of the traces CSU secured was a blond hair in the sink of his kitchen, another the glasses on the table. It looked like Frank drank with someone. We'll have to wait and see if we'll get foreign DNA from the glass."

Alex nodded her confirmation. _That's a good sign. He keeps his eye on the professional focus, too._

Suddenly a tremor passed Bobby's big frame and he sucked in a shuddering breath. He shook his head, trying to remain in control, but it was too much. With another gasp he lost his fight against his emotions and tears ran over his cheeks.

"Frankie!" he whined and covered his face with both hands.

"Shhh!"

Now Alex scrambled up from the couch and hurried over to his side. She sat on the armrest of the easy chair and pulled him into a soothing embrace.

_First his mother and now Frankie. If it wouldn't be for Ronny and me, and Lewis, he'd be all alone in the world now. I guess that's what he's feeling like right now. Abandoned._

Humming a soft, soothing melody she hugged him to her chest and rocked gently forward and back, like she did with their son, too.

tbc…


	10. Chapter 10

**Roots and Seeds**

a Law and Order: CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Dick Wolf still has not agreed to sell them, so they're not mine. This is just for fun and practice.

A/N: Thank you for your nice comments. So, you think this is incorporating "Frame"? LOL You're good... and you're right. ;) Thanks again to Bammi1 for beta-reading. Enjoy.

**Chapter**** 10**

"What do you mean, she's gone?" Bobby snapped when the nurse told him the latest news about Nicole Wallace. It was early on the morning after he found his brother dead in his apartment and about two hours ago he had received a call, letting him know that Nicole awoke from the coma and asked for him. After a quick shower and a not so quick talk with Alex Bobby drove to the hospital and now they told him that Nicole had left.

"I don't know, Mr. Goren," the nurse said. "She isn't in her room anymore and nobody has taken her to do any test or treatment."

"She's in no shape to wander around!" he exploded. "She just had an emergency C-section, so she can't be far! Find her!"

"What's going on here?" a man in a doctor's jacket demanded to know.

"I just told Mr. Goren that Miss Wallace is not here anymore, Dr. Harding," the nurse explained to him. "And that's when he started to shout."

"Mr. Goren?" Dr. Harding turned to him. "Please, what's wrong?"

"What is wrong?" Bobby panted. "Nicole Wallace had surgery only a few days ago, she was in an artificial coma and I just got called that she woke up again. Now I'm told that she's gone! You tell me what's wrong with that."

Dr. Harding frowned at him.

"And don't let me get started about the open arrest warrant on her."

Now Dr. Harding frowned even deeper. "Let me have a look at her file."

"Sure. Do it now," Bobby growled.

So Dr. Harding followed the nurse to their station office and took the folder she handed him.

"Okay, as far as I can see, Miss Wallace was released against medical advice into the custody of her husband."

"Her husband?" Bobby panted. "She's not married…" He paused when he remembered that that was not entirely correct, "Not anymore."

"That's all I can tell," Dr. Harding said. "I'm sorry."

"What about the baby?" Bobby demanded to know.

"Oh, the baby should still be in the nursery," the nurse told him. "Why don't you go and see for yourself?"

"I will, you can be sure of that."

And with that Bobby turned and rushed down the hall to the elevator that took him to the floor with the children's medical unit. There he found Naomi sleeping peacefully in her cradle.

_Soon, my daughter,_ Bobby thought. _Soon you'll be home with us._

Soon, because he could not simply take her with him. He still needed to convince Alex.

xXx

"Now who's that? She seems to know him, but who is it?" Ross asked, watching the hospital's security footage together with Bobby and Bishop.

"He's standing with his back to the camera the whole time," Bishop murmured and leaned slightly forward in a subconscious attempt to see more than actually could be seen.

Bobby sat astride on his chair, his forearms folded on the back rest. He had the remote control and let the tape wind back and run again.

"You see that?" Bobby pointed out. "Even now, when he's helping her settle in the wheelchair, he's paying attention to stay out of clear view of the camera." Attentively he watched the scene on the TV. "See?" he said excitedly, getting up from his seat and leaning over the back rest forward far enough to touch the screen with his index finger. "He knows where the camera is and turns when they step through the door! See? Here he bows his head to hide under his hat. When they go into the next corridor he's walking the whole length with his head down. It looks like he's talking with her. He doesn't raise suspicions."

"Okay, detective," Ross said. "I can see that. But is it really intentionally? He could be talking with her as well. And he could also have turned his attention to her when they left the room."

Bishop harbored doubts, too, but she was careful not to voice them because she just was not sure. Their captain had made a point but so had Bobby. From her earlier experience with working with Robert Goren she knew that his hunches often were more reliable than many a so called _solid evidence_. Of course they had to prove their theories with evidence, Bishop knew that. But she also knew that she could trust Bobby's instincts.

"Who is he?" Bobby murmured more to himself than to his captain and substitute partner. "This posture… the gestures… seen before…"

Bishop could not hide a smirk. Back then when she had worked with him for the first time, during Alex's pregnancy as surrogate mother for her sister Fiona, he had hardly talked at all. All she could do was to try and draw her own conclusions and hope that she would reach the same result as he did. When he talked to himself like that she might have a chance to keep up with him.

"Do you have any idea where you've seen him?" she asked.

"No idea," Bobby said absently. He sounded like he did not even know that he was talking with her, though she suspected that he was conscious of everything that happened around him.

"So, what did Nicole's doctor say about her state of health?" Ross asked.

"Well, how's her health supposed to be after a C-section?" Bobby said. "After all it's a surgical intervention, plus she was in an artificial coma for days. Even though she rested that long the cuts from the surgery can't have healed already. That will take time. She must be weak and in a lot of pain." He shook his head with inability to understand her motives. "When she went into labor she called me for help. She wanted her baby to be safe. She knew she could not do it on her own. Why would she go with this man now?"

"Unless he really is her husband?"

"No, I don't think so." Bobby chewed on his bottom lip, thinking. "She's divorced and her last relationship was with a woman, Naomi. Nicole desperately wanted a child, kidnapped Alex and forced intercourse on me to get pregnant. I can't imagine her with a man now, even though she lost Naomi in an accident."

"Do we know if it really was an accident?" Ross wanted to know.

"We don't even know Naomi's last name, least of all how she died. All we have is Nicole's word that it was a car accident." Bobby shrugged. "Maybe she is dead, maybe she isn't, but that doesn't help us with finding Nicole."

"Wouldn't Nicole have been arrested once she's recovered enough to be transferred to a prison's hospital?" Bishop asked. "Maybe that is why she fled from the hospital with that man. Is there anyone in her history who would help her escape?"

"Nicole always works like that, first she seduces and once she doesn't need her partner anymore she'll kill him."

"Like a black widow," Ross remarked.

Bobby nodded. "Well, whatever she's up to, we can be sure that it is nothing good. Maybe she'll have to put it off due to her surgery, but maybe it's something she can't postpone. It's possible that this man only helped her to leave the hospital, but he may be an accomplice, too."

"For all we know it could also be her girlfriend, Naomi," Bishop said. "There's no picture of him on the whole tape. She could be in disguise."

"Dr. Harding said that it was a man."

"He could be mistaken," Bishop argued and pulled up her hair to hold it in a roll behind her head. "If I wore a hat and glasses and glued on a mustache you'd think I was a man, wouldn't you?"

"Only if you wear a really wide coat," Bobby mused with a distinct glance at the part of her anatomy that would give away to him that she was a woman.

Bishop rolled her eyes at him.

"Is she built like me or more like an ironing board?" she challenged.

Bobby chuckled.

"I'd say somewhere in between," he then said. "You think that Naomi is alive and well and that the women followed a distinct plan by calling me in time for Nicole's labor to set in, that they wouldn't be content with what they did to me and Alex last year but have new ideas about torturing us."

"Something like that," Bishop agreed with a shrug. "Or would you put that past her?"

"No."

Thoughtfully Bobby kneaded his hands, slightly rocking forward and back in his chair. Then he said, "Why would they leave the baby at the hospital? They've taken a lot of risks to get her and now you say they'd just abandon her in order to try and finally destroy me?"

"I didn't say that they have abandoned her," Bishop said. "I just say that they left her at the hospital where they knew she would be safe."

That rendered Bobby silent. His mind started to race. Maybe Bishop was right. But that still left them with the question what Nicole was up to.

Then his heart started to race, too, as he remembered that there had been a blond hair in the sink of his brother's kitchen.

_No, it's too vague a thought. Don't jump to conclusions, Bobby!_

Still he excused himself and left the office to make a call.

tbc…


	11. Chapter 11

**Roots and Seeds**

a Law and Order: CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Dick Wolf still has not agreed to sell them, so they're not mine. This is just for fun and practice.

**Chapter**** 11**

"Oh, no! Really?" Alex doubled over with laughter. "You can't be serious!"

"I mean it," Carolyn insisted. "She said he looked like a pregnant earthworm."

At once Alex dissolved into laughter again and Carolyn laughed with her.

Mike glanced at them from his post near the window. He was not happy being here, having to put up with two women who seemed to still be plagued by a surplus of hormones. For him it looked like they were on speed. But he had promised to stay and so he would stay.

If he would need a psychiatrist afterwards he would send the bills to Bobby.

They were interrupted by the baby phone that alerted them to one of the babies crying. As they could not yet distinguish the voices both women went upstairs to check on Sierra and Ronny.

So Mike was left alone with Nat King Cole, an open red wine bottle and left over pizza. Staring out of the window he took a swig of his beer. He scanned the street and noting that nothing suspicious could be seen he went to the sofa and grabbed a slice of pizza.

Inwardly he chuckled as he chewed on the cold dough with artichokes, onions, feta cheese, and covered with cheese about how much he enjoyed cold pizza, something his wife would never understand. Well, she did not grow up with his mother.

Then dark thoughts clouded his mind. They trailed back to Nicole Wallace. Ever since Bobby had told him that she left the hospital with the help of a still unidentified stranger he felt uneasy. It was not that he was scared. No, he was not scared of the petite Australian. But she definitely taught him not to underestimate her. If you were dealing with Nicole Wallace you had to reckon with anything.

_She not only abduct__ed Alex but Carolyn, too, and made Bobby and me chase her to the amusement park. There she shot at me with a tranquilizer dart and knocked me out just so that she could control Bobby who was then forced to take care of me. Then I woke up naked in chains, got groped by Nicole, and was injected with a poison to make Carolyn play her perverted game._

Mike shuddered.

_No, you can't say that I'm especially fond of her._

Once he had devoured the remaining three pizza slices he returned to the window. Just in time to see a familiar car pull up to the curb in front of the house. He watched his colleague get out and come up to the front door. They met in the hall.

"Hey, Bobby," Mike greeted. "Everything's calm. No sign of her."

"Good. Thanks, Mike."

"No problem."

Bobby hung his coat on the rack and was about to go into the living room when something about Mike stopped him.

"What?"

Mike frowned. He seemed to contemplate what he wanted to talk about before he said, "So what exactly do you expect Nicole to do?"

Shaking his head Bobby replied, "Nothing. I don't know what to expect from her. That's why I'm being rather paranoid… better than being sorry."

"Yeah, I get that." Mike followed him through the living room into the kitchen. "But seriously, what could she do? I mean, she just had surgery."

"That didn't stop her from escaping the hospital," Bobby snapped, looking around searchingly. "Where are they?"

"Upstairs with the kids."

"And you're here?"

"Should I go, too? Alex was already suspicious enough without me acting like her shadow. She already noticed that we didn't intend on leaving before you're back home."

"Thanks, Mike."

"Yeah, yeah… you're welcome," Mike groaned. "You may deal with the girls now."

"I will."

Bobby was just about to go upstairs to see if Alex and Carolyn were ready to come back down and have a talk when he bumped into them on the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey, Bobby," Carolyn said.

"Hey." Alex let him hug and kiss her gently, but when he let go, she pushed him back and strode purposefully into the living room where she dropped on the sofa. When Bobby followed her and sat on the other couch she glowered at him for a moment before she vented her anger.

"Okay, first of all, Caro, Mike, I appreciate your company." Alex favored both with a genuine smile before she ripped into her husband. "But would you now please tell me why they really are here?" She gave him five seconds to respond before she continued, "I guess they, as young parents themselves, have better things to do than to baby-sit me and Ronny. So spit it out! Now!"

Sighing Bobby knew that he could not put it off anymore. Of course he knew that he had to talk about his worries, he just had thought they could do that over a nice bottle of red wine…

"Bobby!"

When she became like that it was better to surrender immediately.

"After I got the call from the hospital that Nicole woke up from the coma I went there about two hours later and was told that she was gone. Someone picked her up. So far we have no trace of her or her partner."

Alex hmphed at him.

"What about the baby?"

"Naomi still is at the hospital. Nicole went with her sidekick alone."

"And you wanted Caro and Mike to stay with me why…?"

"As moral backup when I come home and tell you."

"Bullshit."

Mike chuckled and Bobby glowered at him.

"Sorry, I just thought I could get a laugh out of you before I ask you to move out of the line of fire until we have caught Nicole and her partner."

"Now that sounds more like you," Alex grumbled. "And what would you like me to do exactly?"

"Maybe you could move to your parents' home until Nicole's found."

"And? Will you lock me in there at our room and put a guard on the door?"

Bobby rolled his eyes. "No, Alex. I just thought you wouldn't be alone the whole day and be among people you love and trust." He paused. "And people I trust. I know you can defend yourself. And when your father is close by it's all the better."

Now it was Alex's turn to roll her eyes.

"And if I don't want to go to my parents?" she challenged.

"As you can't be back on duty yet I'd have to trust Mike and Falacci to find Nicole."

"And what about you?"

"What about me? I'd stay home with you."

"Bobby!" Alex exploded. "I don't want to be pampered. I can take care of myself! You said it yourself!"

"Prevention is better than cure. Do you think I like the idea? But we have no idea what Nicole is up to. I don't want you to get hurt… or worse."

Sucking in a sharp breath Alex swallowed her sharp reply. She could see by his expression and the fire in his dark chocolate eyes that he reacted out of worry for her and their son. As much as she did not want to be patronized, she did not want to hurt him either. And she did not want to endanger their son. Ronny. What if Nicole really tried to get to them? She could not take that risk.

"Okay," she agreed. "I'll call my mom." She saw Bobby's eyes lighten up. "And you'll make sure that you'll get her by the end of the week."

"I'll do what I can."

"No, you'll get her! And you'll take care of yourself, too, you big oaf. If she gets the better of you and you get hurt, you'll have to deal with me!"

"I will get her," he promised, having the dim feeling that he should not refer to her other points.

"Oh, yes, you will. If you don't I will. The bitch has challenged you too often. This is the last game she'll play with you."

Though he knew that she could be snarky Bobby was surprised by the venom in Alex's voice. She was magnificent in her rage, like a lioness defending her pride. Oh, he loved that woman.

"Okay, who's for wine and Italian dinner?" Bobby asked.

"You're cooking?" Alex asked.

"Sure."

"I'm in."

"Yeah, count me in, too," Mike said.

"We already had pizza," Carolyn scolded.

"And? Where's the problem?"

"The love handles growing around your middle?" Caro teased.

"Which love handles?" Mike protested and pulled up his shirt to reveal a seasoned but far from fat upper body."

"You will have love handles if you don't change your diet!" Caro chuckled.

"But Bobby will be cooking. You don't want to miss that, do you?" He gave her puppy dog eyes and finally she caved.

"Okay, okay. We'll stay for dinner. Men!" She rolled her eyes in Alex's direction, indicating Bobby and Mike with a jerk of her head.

"Yeah, it's easier to guard a bag of fleas," Alex agreed and joined Caro's laughter.

"I'll help Bobby," Mike declared and followed his friend into the kitchen.

"Yeah," Carolyn shouted after his retreating form, "you go and help Bobby exterminate the six pack of beer I've spotted earlier, and I'll keep Alex company!"

Alex laughed. Despite the bitter start it promised to become a nice evening.

tbc…


	12. Chapter 12

**Roots and Seeds**

a Law and Order: CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Dick Wolf still has not agreed to sell them, so they're not mine. This is just for fun and practice.

A/N: LOL My "Three Musketeers", so faithful. Thank you! :) We're getting deeper into the AU version now. Once more special thanks to _Bammi1 _for her help.

**Chapter**** 12**

The next morning saw Bobby arrive early at One Police Plaza. From CSU he got a box with Frankie's personal belongings. Up on the eleventh floor Bobby went into one of the task rooms to see what he would find in the cardboard box. In black letters the box was marked on the side with Frank Goren and the case identification number.

For a few seconds Bobby held the box and studied the words written on it. Then he put it down and opened the lid. He had already seen at the scene what the forensics packed and catalogued. Bobby could tell that one item was missing. He had noticed it before because it seemed to be kind of out of place.

Bobby sighed.

_Guess they're still working on it,_ he thought.

He was still sitting and staring at the things in the box when Bishop came in. She got his attention quickly as she held up the item she had in hand.

"Where did you get it?" he asked. "I just was down at CSU, but it was not among Frank's other stuff."

"Taylor gave it to me. He did not notice that you were at the lab or he would have given it to you then. He had just finished his examinations."

Bobby took it from her and stared at it thoughtfully. It was a wooden, gold painted frame with an old picture in it, a picture of Frank and Bobby.

"Taylor said, they didn't find any prints other than yours."

Bobby accepted that statement without any noticeable reaction. He did not really expect the scientists to find any trace on the picture that lay open on the coffee table beside the crack pipe when he found his brother dead in his apartment.

"This frame," Bobby said thoughtfully. "It honors the picture, the memory. My brother's not thoughtful. He tacks his photos to the wall with pushpins."

In his left hand he held the frame, in his right the loose pictures. Some of them were quite old. He saw one where Frankie was on the road with some of his biker friends, one photo of their mom in her prime, another picture showed Donny's mother and one was taken at Bobby's graduation from the police academy. He had to smile to himself when he saw his younger self in uniform.

A high beeping sound alerted Bishop of an incoming message and she fumbled her cell phone out of her pocket quickly.

"The autopsy's back," she read from its display.

So Bobby put everything back into the box and left that on his desk on their way out and to the elevator that took them down to the morgue where the medical examiner greeted them tiredly. Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers led them to the autopsy room where Frank Goren lay on the cold steel examination table.

"We found sperm in his urethra," Rodgers told them, "and traces of saliva. We're running the DNA on that… good luck… and on the blond hair from the sink in his kitchen."

"So he wasn't alone when he overdosed," Bishop said.

"He didn't." Sighing Rodgers turned to Bobby. "Your brother was murdered. Besides crack, cocaine, there was succinylcholine in his system, a paralytic."

"Right, which makes you stop breathing," Bobby added.

Rodgers nodded. "There's an injection point in his side."

She lifted the blanket over him so that the detectives could have a look at what she meant and Bishop went around the examination table to do so. Bobby came over, too, and both took in the small reddened spot on Frank's pale skin.

"Frank… never used needles. He was afraid of them. Succhinylcholine. The blond hair in the sink."

Bishop knew what he was waiting for. He puzzled the pieces together in his head and he expected her to do the same, but she was at a loss.

"Nicole Wallace," he helped her out.

Once she heard the name Bishop could place her. She recalled the news in the papers and on TV as well as the rumors running the precincts back then when it seemed to be certain that Bobby Goren's unusual practices had driven an innocent man to commit suicide. Later Nicole Wallace turned out to have killed Daniel Croyden in order to discredit Goren's judgment and reputation.

"She came after my brother."

Bobby sounded agitated and Bishop could understand that. "We'll find her," she said, trying to put as much determination into her words as she could muster.

Raising his eyebrows he smiled a pained smile at her.

"I'll be a short moment," he said.

"Okay. I'll wait at the office."

As Bishop retreated from the autopsy room Bobby stood thoughtfully beside his brother's lifeless body.

_Why didn't I call earlier,_ he thought. _I could have prevented this. Frankie…_

Rodgers watched him as he stood there, his eyes clouded with grief, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths, and his lips trembling, his teeth trying to catch the bottom lip to chew on it. He pressed his eyes shut and opened them again, but there were no tears, though he obviously was grieving.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," Rodgers said and knew how inadequate those words sounded.

"Thank you," he replied tonelessly. For another moment he stood and stared at his dead brother before he turned to her and wanted to know, "The other test I asked you to run?"

Rodgers needed a second to realize that he meant the paternity test.

"Congratulations. You have a daughter," she said, wondering why that news only made him look sadder than before.

"Thank you," was all he said before he left.

xXx

Bobby sighed as he approached his desk. He came from a talk with Detective Taylor from CSU. Before he went down there he had given Bishop the files about Nicole Wallace and asked her to look at them until he was back. Tiredly he smiled at his temporary partner who sat at Alex's work place, studying said files. Even though he had already worked for a few weeks with Lynn Bishop it still was an arrangement he had to get used to.

"We need to talk with Ross," he said. "Did you get yourself updated?"

"Yes," Bishop agreed. "I also think that we should talk about our next steps. Do you…? Or should I…?"

"Would you go?" Bobby asked. "I'd like to check something."

"Sure." With a small encouraging smile at him she got up and strolled over to Captain Ross's office.

Out of the corner of his eye Bobby saw her step in and talk with Ross. Then she went over to a task room and Bobby joined her there. While Bishop started to put up pictures and prints on the two pin boards Bobby sat down at the table. Opening his binder he looked at his notes again. Bishop used the left board for the pictures and results of the autopsy on the current case, Frank Goren, and the right one for the collected information about Nicole's old cases. When Ross entered he looked intently at both boards before he tapped the Australian's mug shot.

"Nicole Wallace," he said to Bobby, "I'm told she's your white whale?"

"When… she was a literature professor… she lectured on Melville."

Memories rose of that first time he and Alex met Nicole. After killing her Nicole had adopted the identity of Elizabeth Hitchens, a literature professor from Australia, too, who had embezzled money from the university. She used Hitchens's visa to achieve right of residence in the USA. Back then Nicole also had seduced a female professor who was responsible for employment to make sure that she could stay and teach at the university.

Bobby was startled out of his thoughts by Ross.

"Either way, what makes you think she killed your brother?" The captain still was skeptical.

Thinking of the numerous victims Nicole had lured into her death trap Bobby told him, "That's what she does, Captain. She seduces, then kills… usually with poison."

"She killed Mark Bailey," Bishop took her clue from him, pointing at the respective picture, "grad student, by spiking his gum. Larry Chapel," she showed the captain the next photo, "a health inspector, injected under his tongue with potassium chloride." She pointed out one more picture, "And Zack Thaler, a diamond thief, succinylcholine injected in his side."

"And she used the same method on my brother." Bobby's voice was hoarse with suppressed grief and anger. "She knew… that I would remember."

Ross still was not convinced. He queried, "But the last time you saw her was what? Two years ago?"

"Three years ago," Bobby specified. "I convinced her to give up the only person that she ever loved, a little sick girl named Gwen Chapel."

Ross looked at him skeptically.

Bobby wondered what else he should tell his commanding officer. It was so obvious that Nicole was behind the murder of his brother. She must have done it not long before she went into labor. He could hardly believe it, but that was how it must have happened.

"Gwen… was all that she had." He paused, thoughtfully, remembering how Nicole had wormed her way into Gwen's family, killed her uncle and framed her father. She had hoped to take Gwen and live with her, but then she brought her to Phoenix, Arizona, to her aunt and uncle. "She thinks that Frank is… all I have."

"I'm not doubting you, Detective," Ross said, eyeing Bobby intently. He could not quite hide his compassion for his detective. He had learned to trust and to respect the unconventional investigator. Still he had to keep up his tough façade. "But now that your brother's death has been ruled a murder it doesn't matter if Nicole was involved. Neither of you can go near this."

A slight frown creased Bishop's forehead. Why should she not be included in the investigation? She did not know Nicole and Bobby was not her dedicated partner. She could be objective. Still she decided to support Bobby.

"Then forget this case," she told Ross. "Nicole jumped bail on a murder charge three years ago."

Ross did not answer at once. He was not sure just how much leeway he should give Goren. Only one thing was sure, he could not allow him to work his brother's case. Taking a deep breath he made his decision.

"Okay. Try to track her down before the M.E. matches her DNA to your brother's room."

Nodding Bobby turned to leave and Bishop followed him. Bobby already was out of the door when Ross said, "Bishop?"

She stopped just under the doorframe and turned to Ross attentively. Bobby just noted it peripherally. He had spotted something on his desk that made him curious. While they had been talking with their captain someone had delivered a flower bouquet. Red gerbera and yellow roses were arranged to form a big globe, based in a plastic pot hidden in a white cardboard box. A card stuck between the flowers and Bobby picked it up.

Bishop walked past him on her way to her desk and stopped midstride when she noticed the flowers.

"What was that?" Bobby wanted to know before she could ask anything.

"Captain wanted to make sure you're not being paranoid." She shrugged. "I said that I checked the information and would agree with your assessment."

While she answered his query he read the card. In reply to her questioning gaze he gave her the note. "It's from her," he said.

"Oh, this is the poison of deep grief?" she read. Confused she looked up at him.

"Hamlet," he told her as if that would answer her implied question of what Nicole wanted to tell him with that quote.

Bobby remembered that the King had been speaking about Ophelia's madness that haunted her after her father died. So Shakespeare was not only speaking about the poison as actual means of killing someone, but also meant it figuratively. Deception, betrayal and manipulation were other poisons he showed in his play as well as madness, murder and justice. So he tied the word poison to actions and words indicating death to apply it to deceptive acts of the living next. In the end justice was served as all who were touched by the different forms of poison found death.

"Hey, Goren!" another colleague tried to get Bobby's attention.

But Bobby still was caught in his thoughts. He tried to draw the conclusion Nicole wanted him to find. Suddenly he said, "My nephew."

"We've got a call for you from the hospital," the other detective told him, now having Bobby's interest. "You're listed as someone's next of kin. They wouldn't tell me who."

"Well…" Bobby grabbed his coat. "That's my nephew. That's Donny. She found him."

With Bishop in his wake he left the office.

tbc…


	13. Chapter 13

**Roots and Seeds**

a Law and Order: CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Dick Wolf still has not agreed to sell them, so they're not mine. This is just for fun and practice.

**Chapter**** 13**

So Bobby found himself at a hospital once more. It was not Donny who had listed him as his next of kin. Bobby was relieved and anxious at the same time. He had no idea what had happened or why he was here now. But he was here and he would stay because he called the man lying in the hospital bed a good friend.

Right now Bobby stood by the window looking outside when the other man regained his consciousness and groaned.

"Bobby?"

Bobby turned around to see his old mentor, Declan Gage, looking at him with anxiety.

"Oh, my old friend," Gage moaned and tried to get up.

At once Bobby was at his side, trying to hold him back and push him back down into the pillows.

"Easy," he said, struggling with Gage, "easy, easy."

"Forgive me. I didn't know who else to put down."

Gage finally settled back down in the bed. He obviously was exhausted and it took an effort for him to speak.

"Someone… bumped me," he said and drifted off to sleep again.

For a moment Bobby stood beside his mentor's bed and watched him sleep before he went out to meet Bishop and the detective who was investigating the attack on Declan Gage.

"He's out," Bobby said as he stopped beside them.

"Declan was at John J.," Bishop told him. "He just finished a presentation on serial killers."

"His colleagues found him collapsed in this stairwell," the detective explained to them. "A witness saw a blond woman leaving the scene. That was beside him." With his last words he handed over a plastic bag with a syringe to Bobby.

"Okay," Bishop turned to the detective. "We're gonna need a round the clock guard on him."

Their colleague confirmed her request with a nod and walked away down the hall. Gage's doctor just came from the other side and Bishop stopped him.

"When will we be able to talk to him?" she asked.

"We need to flush the poison out of his system first," he told them.

"It's some kind of paralytic," Bobby said. It was not a question, rather a statement.

The doctor looked at him with mild surprise. "Yes. He was found quickly, but given his age and poor health…" He read on the chart he held in his hand.

"His health was bad?" Bobby queried.

"He never fully recovered from those stomach parasites he picked up last winter. I'm sorry. I thought, next of kin, you would know about it."

"No."

The doctor actually sounded amused when he said, "Never eat month old Christmas goose." His pager beeped. "Oh, excuse me." And before either Bobby or Bishop could say anything he hurried down the hall.

Thoughtfully Bobby looked at the evidence bag in his hand.

"The syringe is only half compressed," he murmured, showing it to Bishop.

"Nicole was interrupted." She was surprised, too. "She couldn't give him the full dose."

It was right then that a nurse went straight to the door of Gage's room, holding a flower bouquet in her arms. Getting suspicious at the sight of the red gerbera and yellow roses in the white cardboard box Bobby stepped into her path and intercepted her.

"May I?" he asked and picked the card out of the bouquet.

"Who else knows Declan's here?" Bishop asked, sounding confused.

"This one she's signed," Bobby said absently.

The card read, _wishing you the speediest of recoveries, Nicole_.

xXx

The detectives returned to One Police Plaza to follow the new lead they found at the hospital. Both grabbed a telephone book and their phone and started typing and questioning. A couple of phone calls later Bishop had found the origin of the red gerbera and yellow roses flower bouquets Nicole had sent to Bobby and Declan Gage.

Before they left the precinct again to go and talk with the flower shop owner Bishop stopped by at Ross's office to let him know where they were going. Then she followed her partner to the elevator. The ride down was as silent as the drive to the flower shop.

After they arrived and identified themselves to the man who was in charge of the shop they showed him a picture of Nicole Wallace, asking for the red and yellow bouquets.

"Yeah, that's her," the man confirmed. "So sad. She must be going through quite a lot."

"Why do you say that?" Bishop asked the flower vendor.

"First she purchased two sympathy bouquets," he explained, "practically in tears all the time. Then she emails an order for another sympathy bouquet to your friend at the hospital."

"Ah… Do you know where the other two were sent to?" Bobby queried.

"One to Police Plaza, the other to Phoenix." The shop owner spotted a customer coming in. "Hm, excuse me."

"Phoenix, that is where Nicole took Gwen Chapel," Bobby explained to Bishop. "The girl who was at high risk of cancer. Gwen Chapel, the only person that she ever loved. If she's dying that might be what set Nicole off."

Thoughtfully Bishop nodded to his explanation. She was about to leave, but Bobby would not move.

_I can clearly see her losing it over the death of Gwen,_ Bobby thought. _So she probably did not mean Frankie when she wrote about grief in her card to me. Not necessarily. Maybe she meant Naomi's death, and Gwen's possible death. She could have meant her own grief._

While he mused about Nicole Wallace's motives he let his gaze wander over the collection of flowers.

_Oh, this is the poison of deep grief. In the play's context it referred to Ophelia's madness after her father's death,_ Bobby reminded himself. He had thought of it before, but he did not relate it to the case then. _If she refers to her own madness she descended into after Naomi's death? Not that it would be much different to her usual madness… But she probably really suffers and if Gwen is about to lose the fight against her cancer…_

Pulling himself out of his contemplations Bobby looked around once more and, seeing that the other customer paid and left, he turned to the vendor and asked him to put together another two bouquets.

"Do you want to add cards?" the shop owner asked him.

"No, thanks. I'll give them to her personally."

With a smile he took his leave, following Bishop to their car where he put the flowers into the trunk.

xXx

"Hello, Bobby," Alex greeted when her husband arrived at her parents' house and she let him in. "How's the investigation going?"

"Tough," he murmured, putting his coat on the rack and toeing off his shoes. "Declan's in the hospital."

"Declan? You mean Declan Gage?"

He nodded.

"Your mentor Declan Gage? The father of Jo Gage who tried to kill me?"

"The same." Bobby could hardly withstand the urge to chuckle. Alex was not that slow-witted. She wanted to tease him into giving up his information. He did not want to make it too easy for her. The least she could do was wait until he completely arrived home.

"What happened?" Alex asked, unable to stand it any longer.

"I'll answer you when I'm back from the restroom and found a place in a comfortable chair, okay?" he smirked at her and breathed a kiss on her forehead before he went to the bathroom. When he returned she waited for him in the living room. As soon as she saw him enter she picked up the beer bottle on the coffee table in front of her and looked at him questioningly. He nodded and she popped off the cap.

"Thanks."

But before he made himself comfortable he had something else to do. He went back to the hall and put on slippers because he left the house for another run to his car. When he returned he carried a big bunch of flowers in his right hand.

"Oh, Bobby. That was not necessary," Alex said, smiling at him. Her features darkened when he shook his head.

"Where's your mom?" he asked and Alex rolled her eyes, pointing upwards to indicate that Helen was on the first floor.

So Bobby turned to the stairs but stopped again and brought his left hand forward, producing a smaller bouquet.

"This one's for you, love," Bobby said and gave her the flowers with a wink.

Taking the bouquet she made a face at him before she grinned and winked back. She turned to go and put the flowers into a vase.

Bobby went upstairs to deliver his bouquet to a completely astonished Mrs. Eames and came back down to Alex a few minutes later. Dropping into an easy chair Bobby grabbed his beer bottle and stretched his long legs in front of him. Alex watched him impatiently. She could hardly stand that he took a few mouthfuls of his beer first.

"You know that I shouldn't talk with you about open cases, right, Alex?" he teased.

"Bobby!"

"Frankie was murdered."

"Oh, no! Bobby, I'm sorry. Did someone force him to overdose?"

"He did not overdose," Bobby murmured, sipping at his beer again to fill his pause. "He was injected with succinylcholine."

"That sounds familiar."

Bobby nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure you remember who died by injection of succinylcholine in his side, too."

"Zack Thaler," she answered quick as a shot.

Bobby could not help but smile proudly. His wife knew their cases from the inside out. Especially the cases Nicole Wallace was involved in.

"So it _was_ Nicole?" Alex prodded.

"Yes."

When he did not continue by himself she pushed, "How do you know?"

"She used the same method on my brother she used to kill Zack Thaler. She knew I would remember. She did it deliberately. There was a blond hair in the sink of his kitchen and she even left her DNA on him. Okay, it's not confirmed yet by the tests, but for me there's no doubt that she is responsible for his murder."

"Bobby, I'm sorry."

"Thank you, Alex."

His voice was low and a little hoarse. She tried to imagine his pain. Alex had experienced the pain of loss when her first husband Joe died in a shooting on the job, so she could sympathize with him. She knew that Bobby's grief was not less strong than hers just because he did not show it. He always kept so much to himself, but she knew it was there and she readily was there for him whenever he needed her to share his sorrow.

"You said that Declan Gage is in hospital," she reminded him. "What happened to him?"

"He was attacked by Nicole, too." Bobby sighed. "His colleagues found him on a stairwell, a half compressed syringe beside him. They called a bus and were just in time. If he wouldn't have been found so quickly he would not have survived."

"And you're positive that it was Nicole?"

"Yes. CSU examined the syringe and confirmed that it was filled with succinylcholine. In addition Nicole sent a bouquet of flowers for Declan to the hospital, wishing him a quick recovery."

"Sounds like her."

"Oh, yeah, it does. She sent me a similar sympathy bouquet. She signed the card with a print of her lips. The note read: Oh, this is the poison of deep grief."

In Alex's look he could read that she did not recognize the quote either.

"Hamlet."

"Oh, she found a kindred spirit, huh?" Alex grumbled. "Lunatics united."

That was too much. Bobby could not help but laugh.

"Oh, Alex! I love you," he panted. But then his smile dropped off his features. "I'll have to go to Arizona."

Alex frowned first, but then she made the connection. "You want to go and see Gwen Chapel?"

"Yes. I need to know if Nicole contacted her."

"Did you call?"

"No. I'm afraid that we wouldn't get the information we need if we just called. We'll have to see her personally."

Alex sighed. "Well, if you gotta go, you gotta go."

Suddenly Bobby jumped out of his easy chair and joined Alex on the couch. Hugging her close to him they sat for a while in silence.

"When I got the flowers and read the card I was so scared that she found Donny. I just got the call from the hospital. All I could think was that she found him and tried to kill him." He shuddered. "I was so relieved when I found out that it was Declan."

Craning her neck Alex kissed his temple before she snuggled back up to him.

"Don't get me wrong. Declan is important for me, sure, he's a friend. But family is different. I was so damned scared for Donny. I still am."

Actually Alex thought that he had every right to be scared for his nephew. Nicole Wallace was unpredictable and her deteriorating madness made her more dangerously than ever.

"You will catch her before she can get to him," she tried to reassure him. "I trust you. You will finally arrest her and bring her to justice."

"Thank you for your confidence," Bobby said. His mind still was a whirlwind. He was waiting for the perfect opportunity to say what was on his mind, but it did not seem to come. So he took a deep breath and just told her, "Rodgers has the test results. Naomi is my daughter."

Silence fell over the living room.

Alex had to stomach that new information.

She did not try to get out of his embrace, though, and Bobby was glad about it. Physical closeness was a sign of trust for him and he marveled at the feel of her body against his. He needed her so much and he wanted to protect her.

Anxiously he waited for whatever she had to tell him.

"And you want to bring her into our family," Alex suddenly said.

There was no way to deny that.

"Yes."

Alex had known that he would ask her to accept the little girl as member of their family if the paternity test would prove that he was her father. Still she could not think properly about how she felt about that and what she was prepared to do yet. She still was undecided.

"Let me sleep on it."

Bobby was glad that she did not refuse at once. He was willing to give her as much time as she needed and he told her so. Alex smiled at him a small pained smile and snuggled closer to him. She was tired.

She fell asleep in his strong arms.

tbc…


	14. Chapter 14

**Roots and Seeds**

a Law and Order: CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Dick Wolf still has not agreed to sell them, so they're not mine. This is just for fun and practice.

**Chapter**** 14**

The next morning Bobby had to get up very early to catch the first flight to Phoenix. In the early afternoon he and Bishop sat in the living room of Susan Chapel's house. Right across from their sofa Gwen sat in an easy chair. She wore casual clothes and wore a light blue headscarf .

"I remember you," she said. "You are the New York detective. Nicole said you might stop by."

"She came to see you?" Bishop asked.

"No, but she sent these." Gwen indicated the flower bouquet on the coffee table separating them: red gerbera and yellow roses.

"They are very pretty," Bobby said, smiling at the girl. "And she… sent you something else?"

"She sent me a get well card. There's a note for you inside." She reached into the depth of the chair beside her and produced the card. "She told me not to tell Allan and Susan."

Bobby took the card from her and read the two lines written on it in Nicole's handwriting.

Bishop glanced at him furtively. His features did not give his thoughts away. Then he pocketed the card and she noticed a picture on the back before it vanished in his jacket.

"Would you like a cup of coffee?" Susan Chapel asked right then from the kitchen that was separated from the living room only by a counter.

"Thanks, but no thanks. We appreciate it, but we won't stay so long. Thank you," Bobby replied. Then he turned back to Gwen, asking with a wink, "How are Susan and Allan?"

"They are nice," Gwen murmured, glancing at Susan who was oblivious to them talking about her. "They are very supportive, too. I can't go to school regularly because of my treatment. They are homeschooling me."

"That must be hard," Bishop said.

"Yeah. They love me. And I love them in return." Gwen grew thoughtful. "Nicole loved me, too."

"Yes, she did," Bobby agreed. "She still does."

"Is she okay?" Gwen asked tentatively.

"She just became a mother," Bobby told her, offering her a compassionate smile. "She gave birth to a little girl."

"That's good," Gwen smiled. "I hope she'll make Nicole happy."

"She will," Bobby assured her. His smile was sincere. "I would love to talk a little longer with you, but we have to return to New York. Goodbye, Gwen."

"Goodbye, Detective."

She got up and showed them to the door. Once outside Bobby got the card out of his jacket again and gave it to Bishop.

"Tit for tat. Blood for blood," she read aloud. When she turned the card around she saw the old picture of a teenager. That had to be Bobby's nephew. "How did she find Donny?" she asked as she handed the photo back to her partner.

"She didn't," he told her, looking at the picture. "Nicole doesn't have Donny. If she did she would have sent a new picture of him."

Bishop's cell phone chose that moment to receive a text message and announce it with a beep.

"DNA, from the hair," Bishop read. "It's Nicole's."

"Of course. She left one strand of her hair for that purpose."

"This is just a game to her," Bishop concluded.

Bobby nodded. So much was obvious. He looked at the envelope Donny's photo came into.

"It's World Cup. This letter is postmarked in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Nicole's sending us on a scavenger hunt."

"What is in Pittsfield?" Bishop wanted to know.

"A white whale." He grew thoughtful, remembering the lecture he had visited back then. "That's where Melville wrote Moby Dick."

He got into their rented car on the passenger's side. Bishop would drive. She appeared to be as happy with that task as Alex was. While they returned to the airport Bobby could think about the old case, see Nicole in the lecture hall, talking in front of the students.

_The descent into madness is usually preceded by obsession. Moby Dick_, she had told them. _What characterizes Ahab's obsession? I just fancied it was man's unrelenting pursuit of his own potency._

Yeah. Nicole always had a sense for dramatic performances.

xXx

It was evening when they arrived back in Manhattan and after filling Ross in on their new information and deciding to go to Pittsfield first thing on the next morning, both detectives were glad to head home.

"Everything calm to the point of being dull," Alex reported to Bobby when he came into the living room. She held Ronny in her arms and had just finished feeding him. Before she could shift his position he already burped. Alex chuckled. "Feeling fine, sweetheart? C'mon, give mommy a kiss." And she lifted him up to give him a peck on the forehead before she laid him down in his baby carrier.

When she turned to Bobby he already was close to her and smacked a wet kiss on her forehead.

"Bobby," she scolded gently only to crane her neck and kiss him passionately.

"So… what's new?" she asked when they broke their kiss and he sank into the cushions beside her.

"We'll go to Pittsfield tomorrow. The card Nicole sent to Gwen was postmarked there."

"What's in Pittsfield?"

"That's where Melville wrote Moby Dick."

"Oh."

For a moment they sat together in silence before Bobby said, "Declan left the hospital."

"Really?" Alex was suspicious. "Didn't you say he'd have to stay for a few days?"

"That didn't stop Nicole either, did it?" Bobby sucked in a sharp breath. "When we came back from Phoenix Ross told us that Declan demanded to be released. He also refused personal security. As we can't force it on him he just left and has not been seen ever since."

"I don't think that that is wise, given the fact that Nicole just tried to kill him. He could be surprised again at any time."

"Well, Declan is an excellent profiler… and he's old enough. He should know what he is doing."

"So are you and you still got trapped in Nicole's web last year."

His brown eyes changed to a dark chocolate tone when he now looked at her.

"She had the best bait possible."

Alex swallowed a sudden rush of anxiety as memories flashed before her inner eye. She had been at home, together with Carolyn Barek. They had something to eat, they had wine… and the next thing Alex knew was that she was caged. Metal bars enclosed her prison and on the other side of the room was a similar cell holding Carolyn. They had a camp bed and nothing more. Alex even was chained to her bed that was screwed to the floor. And then Nicole entered the room, explaining to them that they were hostages and Bobby the ransom to buy them free. Alex had been flabbergasted. She had heard a lot of crazy stuff from the Australian poison mass murderer, but that took the cake. Nicole was serious. She injected Alex with a poison and offered Bobby to buy the antidote from her… with naturals. And that was how Nicole got pregnant with Bobby's child.

Awkward silence filled the narrow space between them and loaded the atmosphere. When she could not stand it any longer Alex asked. "Have you eaten?"

"A little, on the plane," he murmured, but his insides rumbled audibly at the mention of food.

"But you wouldn't mind dinner, huh?" she chuckled, wrinkling up her nose as she thought of the food usually served on planes. "We had pork roast with corn and gravy. There's a portion for you in the fridge. Just put it in the…" _microwave_ she wanted to say but he already darted to the kitchen.

So Alex decided to bring Ronny upstairs and when she returned from tucking him in Bobby sat and ate his dinner. Sitting down on the sofa Alex took a deep breath and just said what was on her mind.

"If you ask for my honest opinion, and that's what you do, I have to tell you that I have my doubts about taking Naomi in." She saw his frown and held up one hand to silence him. "But I agree with it."

"You do?"

He sounded so incredulous that Alex could not help but laugh out loud.

"Yes, I do. I love you, Bobby. I want you to be happy. And you are Naomi's father. So what did you expect me to do? Say no? And then you'd bring her home anyway?" She chuckled. "I know you could never walk away from a child of yours. You are absolutely right. She has family and that is where she belongs. She belongs with us. And I'll welcome her in our family."

"Thank you, Alex," he said, almost choking on his corn with emotion. "That means a lot to me."

"I know," she said, favoring him with a warm smile. Then something entirely else crossed her mind. "Did Ross say when Declan left?"

"In the early afternoon, I think," Bobby said. "Why is that significant?"

Alex shrugged. "No idea. Or maybe… maybe I somehow expected him to want to talk with you before he leaves. I don't know."

"You're the one having a hunch this time?" Bobby smirked.

"I don't have a hunch," Alex chuckled. "I don't even know why I asked. I guess I'm bored."

"You're bored? Don't you have enough to do with our baby boy?" he teased.

"Oh, he's not keeping me as busy as Neal. And you know that that's not what I meant. My mind needs stimulation, Bobby." Smirking she tapped two fingers against her temple. "It feels like the wheels in there are getting a little rusty."

Bobby laughed.

"Stimulation, huh?" His mischievous smirk suggested that he did not think about her brain. Accordingly his arm rose and was placed on the sofa's backrest. His hand found its way over the curve of her shoulder to her chest where it started to caress her, his fingers trailing around the firm mound of her breast.

Of course Alex knew that game, too, so that her hand did not waste its time with his chest. Brushing over his considerable pride made him gasp and she used the golden opportunity for a challenging kiss that drew the wind out of him, leaving him panting. Her chest was forgotten. Now his hand clawed in her blonde hair, pulling her close for another crushing kiss. Both of them were breathing heavily when he let go of her, but his excitement even rose higher when she caressed him through his trousers.

Smirking at him she reached for his belt now. With skilled hands she unbuckled his belt and fumbled his button open. Slowly she opened the zipper.

"Whoa! Aleeeex!" he panted when she advanced further.

Alex chuckled. Then she wrapped her arms around Bobby's middle and urged him to shift his position until she could shove his pants down. Having him fully exposed now, his feet trapped in the fabric of his suit trousers, aroused her, too, and she bent down to go ahead and caress him with her lips. But as soon as her breath washed over him he moaned with pleasure. His moan grew deeper when she started to peck him and more drawn out with every lick she let follow.

Closing his eyes Bobby leaned back and let himself drift away on the waves of pleasure she elicited from him. His breaths became shorter and heavier until moans mingled in and grew to groans. The stronger she held his hips to prevent him from thrusting the harder he clawed at the sofa, doing his best not to explode too fast. When he finally could not hold back any longer he released with a cry of pleasure.

Once he regained his senses enough to recognize where he was and what had just happened he blushed a deep crimson.

"What?" Alex asked, smirking at him.

"Your parents…" he mumbled.

Alex laughed out loud.

"Don't you think that they made their own experiences?" she chuckled.

Slowly Bobby recovered which was not so easy looking at his beautiful wife. Alex glowed with the pride of motherhood and love and Bobby found it very, very hard to withstand. Suddenly he noticed a change in her stance and when he searched eye-contact with her he saw that she became earnest again.

"When do you want to go and take Naomi home?" she asked.

"I thought you would come with me."

"I… can," she agreed hesitantly. "When do you want to go?"

"Hmmm… We'll have to go to Pittsfield tomorrow… I'll have to see when we'll be back."

"We can still go afterwards," Alex suggested. "Why don't you call me when you quit for the day? Then we could meet at the hospital."

Thoughtfully he nodded.

"Okay. Then that's settled," Alex stated. She smirked at him mischievously. "Now let's have some more fun before the two of them keep us busy day and night."

Bobby's eyes widened with surprise and excitement as she reached out for him to pull him up and lead him to their bedroom.

tbc…


	15. Chapter 15

**Roots and Seeds**

a Law and Order: CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Dick Wolf still has not agreed to sell them, so they're not mine. This is just for fun and practice.

A/N: Thank you for your reviews. It was a challenge to combine it with "Frame" but it was fun, too. I'm glad you like it. Enjoy.

**Chapter**** 15**

They were up pretty early to drive to Pittsfield. Bishop was wondering what they might find there. If they found anything at all. Her temporary partner just assumed that Nicole wanted them to go there. He took the postmark and followed that lead. But what were they supposed to do in Pittsfield? Had Bobby an idea already? Did he know more than he let on? It seemed like that. Well, if she was honest with herself that was nothing new. He often ran ahead with his thoughts and had to catch up with the investigation then… She sighed.

"What are we going to do?" Bishop asked as they entered Pittsfield. She did not really expect an answer. Bobby leaned against the window and seemed to be sleeping.

"We are going to Melville's house," he told her without looking at her. "It should be marked. It's famous after all."

She nodded and looked out for any sign indicating the direction to Herman Melville's house. When she finally spotted one she followed it turning to the right and heading straight down the road. She stopped in front of a pretty timber house, with yellow painted walls and white ornaments. In the front yard blossomed a variety of flowers.

A woman was working in the garden and when she saw the detectives approach she put her watering pot aside and pulled off her gloves.

"Welcome to our inn," she greeted Bobby and Bishop, smiling amiably.

"I'm Detective Bishop," she introduced herself, flashing her badge.

"I'm Detective Goren," Bobby added.

"Oh, Mr. Goren!" the landlady cheered excitedly. "We have the honeymoon suite ready for you… and… your package arrived. I left it in the room." She opened the front door to lead the detectives in. Through a narrow hall they went to a room in the back of the house and unlocked the door. Striding in she said, "We were expecting you earlier, but don't worry. You're just in time for wine and cheese."

Both detectives entered the room after her. The old fashioned furniture fit the old house and made the room look quite comfortable. On the big four-poster bed sat a big white box. Checking its label they found that it was addressed to the inn care of Robert O. Goren. Thoughtfully Bobby rubbed his chin.

"Could you excuse us for a minute…?" he politely asked the landlady who nodded and left the room. Bobby closed the door behind without taking his eyes off the package. Bishop also still stared at the box.

"It's addressed to me from Donny," he said tonelessly.

Watching Bobby stand close by the bed, shifting his weight from one foot to the other and back, made her uneasy. They did not know what was in the box. He looked as if he wanted to go ahead and open it. He got a pocket knife out.

"Why don't we wait and…?" Bishop said when she saw him reach out for the package.

But he had already cut the tape that held the lid closed and pulled it open. There was a Styrofoam cooler inside. Its lid had a red handle and Bobby used it to lift it up.

"Oh, my god!" Bishop gasped, pivoting around and stepping back from the bed. She pinched her nose shut to prevent herself from breathing in the smell coming from the contents of the box. She had to fight to keep herself from choking.

Bobby just stood beside the bed and stared at what he had revealed. They would have to call the police and the local coroner.

Inside the box, on a thick bed of ice cubes, lay a human heart.

xXx

"I can't reach Declan," Bobby said, putting his cell phone away. He sounded worried and that on the other hand worried Alex.

"How often did you try?"

"A couple of times…"

"How often, Bobby?" she pushed.

"Twenty seven."

"Mail box?"

"Nope. The cell phone is on, he just doesn't answer it." He fidgeted around, trying to keep himself from getting his own phone back out. Without success.

"Twenty eight," Alex remarked dryly.

Bobby noticed a hint of sarcasm in her tone. Alex barely knew Declan Gage who had been Bobby's mentor when he was with the CID and later when he returned to the United States, too. It was Bobby's honest opinion that Declan was a brilliant profiler, but he rather lived with and for the murderers he was chasing than for his own family. Declan's daughter Jo had become a serial killer just to get an opportunity to talk with him in interrogation. She had yearned for becoming the next object of his studies to finally spend some time with her beloved father.

_Pervertly,_ Bobby thought, _it worked. Declan probably spent more time with her in her prison cell to interview her than he was with her on the rare occasions that he visited her._

One of the women Jo had kidnapped had been Alex. Jo had abducted her from her house in the Rockaways and left her hanging tied from a hook in a cellar. Alex managed to free herself and alert a passer-by of her captivity.

It had been hell for Bobby.

The race against time in finding Alex before she would be tortured to death left him on the edge and beside himself. It had been the crucial test for Bobby and Ross, who had just succeeded Deakins as captain of the Major Case Squad, and secretly Bobby thought that nothing could shake the new captain if he survived the long hours he had to endure him, out of his mind with worry for his partner.

Alex just had met Declan during the investigation and knew that he was a friend of Bobby, but she had no personal relationship to him. Actually Bobby believed to sense that she resented him his friendship with Bobby. After all he was Jo's father.

Bobby was a little surprised. He did not know her to hold a grudge for such a long time.

_Beep, beep, beep…_

"He's still not answering," Bobby said and snapped the phone shut with a huff of frustration.

"Maybe he is talking with one of his serial killers," Alex suggested. "And the cell phone's lying in a box at prison, ready to be collected after the interview."

"Yeah, probably." Bobby did not sound convinced, but he put the phone away.

In the morning Bishop had stopped by at the Eames's house to pick up Bobby for their drive to Pittsfield. In the late afternoon Alex then came for him to One Police Plaza. Now she was about to park in the parking garage catty corner of the hospital. Once she stopped and killed the engine she took a deep breath and alighted from their car. Then she got the baby carrier from the backseat.

It was a new carrier. While Ronny's was dark blue and lemon yellow Naomi's was black and bright red. At the same time as Bobby had been in Pittsfield Alex had met with Carolyn, both pushing their baby buggies through Manhattan, getting into a shopping rush as they searched for baby clothes and other necessities for Naomi.

When she now walked beside Bobby to the hospital Alex was nervous. It had been the most natural thing to go home with Ronny. She had carried him to term and had everything prepared for him until he arrived.

She was not Naomi's mother.

Thinking of Naomi's biological mother chased chills down her spine.

Alex did not regret her decision and she really planned on becoming the best mother on earth for Naomi as well as for Ronny, but she also hoped that she would not be reminded of her ordeal each time she looked at the little girl. She had not seen her yet. All she knew was that her name was Naomi and that she was Bobby's daughter.

That had to be enough. That and that she was raised by Bobby and her. They had to make the difference. Love had to make the difference.

"Bobby?" Alex suddenly asked as they rode the elevator to the children's ward's floor.

"Yeah?"

"If Nicole gets arrested and, hopefully, finally sentenced… do you want Naomi to know who her real mother is? Would you want her to go and see Nicole?"

"Why do you ask? Do you want to keep the truth about her origin from her?"

"Not forever," Alex said just as the elevator doors opened and walked straight ahead toward the two doors with the letters _children's ward_ above.

"What does _not forever_ mean?" Bobby was not ready to let that subject go.

Right in front of the doors Alex stopped, turned to Bobby, and said in an earnest tone, "It means that we shouldn't tell her before she's coming of age."

"She might ask."

"Why would she?" Alex challenged. "She would never have a reason to believe that I'm not her mother. Why would she ask for the truth?"

"Someone who is not as careful as we are might blab," Bobby told her, thinking not without any reason of Penelope and Josephine. "You didn't expect twins, Alex. Your family will want to know where the second baby is coming from."

"My parents and Fiona already know about her."

For just a second Bobby was surprised to hear that her sister knew it, too. Helen and John, sure, but he had not expected Alex's sister to know… yet. _Well, they are very close, even more so since Alex gave birth to Neal. So why am I surprised? Maybe because our family life was anything but that close?_ He sighed.

"What?" Alex grumbled. "Do you think it was wrong to tell Fiona?"

"What? No!" Once more Bobby was taken by surprise. _Why did she…? Oh, the sigh._ "I just followed a train of thoughts," he explained. "I was not sighing because you told your sister about Naomi. Actually I think that it would be a good idea to invite them all for dinner and talk with them all." He saw her frown at him skeptically. "Whenever is good for you, that is. Two kids sure will demand all our attention."

"You can talk," she threatened, poking his side. "You're at work all day."

"So that you can stay at home."

"We can switch any time," Alex challenged playfully. "Just let the doctor clear me for active duty and I'll be back with a vengeance."

"I'll endorse that plan any time, Alex, and I'll happily stay with the kids. But don't you forget something?"

"What?" Her brows narrowed over her sparkling eyes.

"I can't breastfeed Ronny and Naomi."

Alex gaped at him in amused shock before she burst out with laughter.

"I take it that's what breast pumps are for," she panted, still chuckling.

He scowled at her indignantly and trailed behind as she pushed through the doors into the children's ward.

"Oh, hello, Mr. Goren!" the nurse greeted him. "I heard that little Naomi will leave us tonight?"

"Yes, we are here to take her home," he replied.

"I assume you are Mrs. Goren?" she asked turning to Alex before Bobby could introduce her.

"You're assuming right," Alex replied, bristling a little, not even knowing why.

"Then c'mon. We'll sign the release papers and then you can take your little angel with you." She hurried ahead to the nurses' station and Bobby and Alex followed her.

_Am I mistaken or did she sound a little sarcastic when she spoke about the little angel,_ Alex wondered and dismissed the thought. Her nervousness increased with every yard they got closer to Bobby's daughter. _Guess I'm a little oversensitive._

Then the papers were signed and the nurse led them to the infants' room and to the bed where little Naomi lay sleeping.

"I always wonder if she can sense you," the nurse said to Bobby. "Each time you're around she's silent."

_This time I'm not mistaken._ "Why do you emphasize that?" Alex demanded to know.

The nurse raised one eyebrow at Bobby first before she answered Alex, "She's got cholic."

Now Alex glanced up at Bobby questioningly who shrugged.

_Great._

Alex looked at the baby. Naomi appeared peaceful in her sleep. A fluff of light brown or dark blond hair curled on her head and when she woke and looked up at the adults sleepily her big eyes were just like Bobby's.

Automatically Alex smiled.

"Helly, Naomi," she purred, gently pulling the blanket aside. "You're coming with us tonight. Do you know who I am?"

Bobby watched her with fascination. Her smile was broad and she radiated love like a heating furnace would radiate warmth.

"I'm your mommy," Alex said and reached into the cradle to pick Naomi up. Gently she laid her in the baby carrier and strapped her in, telling nonsense to her.

"Ready to go?" Alex turned to Bobby.

"Yep."

As they left the hospital and walked back to their car Bobby could not help but look around furtively, searching for any sign of Nicole Wallace. He could very well imagine that she knew that he would take Naomi home and that she was standing in the shadows of an entrance for example, watching him and his daughter leave.

Bobby actually could not shake off the sensation of being watched. His instincts rarely were deceptive. So he kept his guard up all the way to their car and even on their drive home to Alex's parents.

tbc…


	16. Chapter 16

**Roots and Seeds**

a Law and Order: CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Dick Wolf still has not agreed to sell them, so they're not mine. This is just for fun and practice.

**Chapter**** 16**

"Oh, she's a little cutie," Helen Eames exclaimed when she saw Naomi for the first time. "She looks just like Bobby."

Despite the nurse's not so subtle warning Naomi did not scream once on their way home. She seemed to be fascinated by the drive and the new female fussing over her. Everything was new to her and she took it in with great curiosity.

_Just like her father,_ Alex thought and smiled lovingly at the little girl. _I wonder how much she'll be like him._ _I wonder how much she'll be like her mother, like Nicole. Her origin raises the question: is criminal behavior inheritable?_ Alex knew that numerous psychiatrists as well as brain surgeons argued endlessly about that question. She had heard it at court often enough when both sides produced their experts.

Ronny demanded his share of attention by crying out. Alex went to check on him and soon decided, given the time and his screams, that it was time to feed him. While her own mother looked after Naomi she took care of her son. When she was finished she put him down into bed again and returned to the second cradle.

"I wonder if she is hungry, too," Alex said, picking her up.

"Do you really want to breast feed her?" her mother asked doubtfully.

"Why not? I have enough milk for her." And she sat down with her and brought her into position.

Naomi hesitated. With her tiny hand she patted Alex's breast and seemed uncertain of what she was supposed to do with it. As Nicole had been in a coma her daughter only knew the bottle and right now it looked as if she would not take the offered breast.

"Maybe she's not hungry," Helen said.

"I guess she just needs to be reminded of what to do," Alex said, pushing her gently against her chest in a way that her lips touched the bud in the center.

That seemed to be enough, or maybe Naomi caught a taste of the milk. Whatever it was, she took the nipple into her mouth and started to suckle. Alex smiled when she felt her drink.

"Yes, that's it, Naomi. I knew you'd find it out."

Her mother still watched her rather skeptical, but it was not her decision to make. She wished Alex a good night and left to go to bed. A moment later Bobby came in.

"Oh! She's drinking," he said. His astonished face was priceless.

"Yep."

For a moment he watched his wife and daughter, marveling at the fact that Alex could do that for her. He did not expect her to try and breastfeed Naomi, too. He would not have minded if she decided to continue giving her the bottle either.

"Um, Bobby…"

"Yeah."

"When you talked about inviting my family to introduce them to Naomi, did you mean my siblings or my aunts, too?"

"I actually meant your whole family."

Alex rolled her eyes.

"I'm not sure if I want Josephine and Penelope to know."

"I don't think that we'll have a choice, Alex. Wouldn't it be even worse if they would find out and blame you for not telling them?"

Sighing deeply she resigned herself to that idea. Naomi let go of her breast and yawned.

"Are you full, baby? C'mon." She shifted her position to help the little girl to burp. After she did Alex changed her diaper and put her to bed. "Good night, Naomi," she said and gave her a peck on the forehead. Then she did the same with Ronny and went to bed with Bobby.

They barely fell asleep when they heard a baby cry. When Alex arrived in the children's room both were crying already. So she picked up Ronny and rocking him in her arms she tried to calm Naomi down with caresses, but she would not stop crying. Hearing that the kids would not stop Bobby came to help Alex and picked Naomi up, too. For a moment she fell silent, long enough for Alex to tuck Ronny back in and letting him fall asleep. But when Bobby tried to put her down again she cried again. On his arm she behaved like an angel… for about five minutes longer, before she started to whine heartbreakingly.

That was the beginning of the end. Naomi would not let them sleep again that night. It was so bad that Alex suggested that Bobby should drive home so that he would get a t least a little sleep before he had to go to work again, but he refused.

It was the end of the idea of sleeping that night.

xXx

After a night spent dozing rather than sleeping and jumping up, comforting babies, Bobby was tired and grumpy when he arrived at Major Case's squad room at One Police Plaza. Bishop noticed it at once and decided not to address him as long as it was not absolutely necessary.

To make matters worse Bobby was angry with himself that he was so exhausted by the first night with both his children. Usually he did not need much sleep and so he was surprised by how exhausted he was.

So he still was in a rather bad mood when they got a message from the morgue. Rodgers had completed the tests on the heart they found in Pittsfield and they went down to her just a minute after receiving her message.

"It's Donny's heart," Bobby growled, striding down the hall to the morgue.

"Why don't we wait for the M.E.?" Bishop asked. Nobody worked at his best when he was under that kind of stress and Bobby Goren was unpredictable. She did not want to find out what happened when this really was Donny and she hoped that Rodgers would prove that the heart did not belong to him.

"She took my brother, went after Declan, and then my nephew." Bobby was talking himself into agitation.

They heard quick steps catching up on them and from behind Captain Ross said, "Detective…"

"Look," Bobby argued struggling for words that would their captain make understand what Nicole really was like, which danger she presented. "Nicole survived by having no emotions. Alright? I…I made her feel, you know. She never forgave me."

They had reached the autopsy room where Elizabeth Rodgers was working and the medical examiner spotted them through the open door.

"It's not Donny's heart," she told them. "DNA wasn't a match."

For a second Bobby looked shocked, as if he really had been one hundred percent certain that Nicole killed his nephew. He floundered, "But… you, eh, found a match? Huh? Who did Nicole kill?"

"No one," Rodgers stated dryly. "The heart belongs to Nicole Wallace."

If the situation were not that serious it could have been funny to watch Bobby struggle with what the medical examiner was telling him. His shock was clearly visible and he radiated confusion. Then denial set in.

"You know... It's not hers." Bobby really was confused, and that very rarely happened.

"I ran the test three times," Rodgers said laconically.

"No!" Bobby yelled. "Well, you… you don't know her like I do… I mean... If somebody did fake this…"

"It's her DNA." The medical examiner was completely unfazed by his rising agitation.

"She can have a twin!"

"She doesn't." Rodgers was not willing to back down. "I checked her birth certificate with Melbourne."

"She's playing us."

"Or someone's playing you, detective," Ross threw in because he did not see the point in that argument. They were wasting time. "And they killed Nicole Wallace."

"You can't kill Nicole!" Bobby laughed almost hysterically. "She's got nine lives!"

"She ran out."

Bobby glared at Bishop for that comment. "Don't take that side! These tests… they can have false results!" With every word his voice gained pitch and volume. "You know, Nicole is still out there. She's got Donny! You're wrong. You're all wrong!"

And with that Bobby stormed out of the morgue, leaving his colleagues stunned. They all stared at the closing door wordlessly. Bobby never had been someone who wore his heart on his sleeve so his rash of worry about Donny left them surprised and slightly off kilter.

"I'm sorry," Ross finally said to Rodgers. "He's been under…"

"I know," she cut him short, catching his attention.

Ross knew that undertone. There was something she was not telling him. Looks could tell more than words and Ross knew that he had to talk with the medical examiner in private. Now.

"Bishop," he said, "can you give us the room?"

The detective looked at him skeptically for a moment before she conceded, "I'll be upstairs."

Ross closed the door behind her, then he faced Rodgers.

"My detective's in trouble. What do you know?"

She looked at him, torn. As a doctor, even as she was _only_ a medical examiner, she was bound to confidentiality. Her choice was between her responsibility as a doctor and her solidarity with Captain Ross.

"I'm not threatening you, Elizabeth," he told her right then, concern carrying in his voice. "I'm trying to warn you. Goren's vulnerable. He has a target on his back. So does anyone who helps him."

"All right," Rodgers caved in after a long inquisitorial look. "Two months ago Goren asked me to run a DNA test. He had me check his DNA against Mark Ford Brady's."

"The serial killer," Ross mused and Rodgers nodded. "What were the results?"

She shook her head. "No. You'll have to ask him."

There was nothing else to say, so Ross left the morgue. Taking a deep breath Ross tried to stomach what Rodgers's words implied. If that was really true, if Brady was Goren's biological father. He did not want to think about it. That would make everything even more complicated.

The captain also was not sure what he should think about their current case. Someone was targeting Goren and his detective had assumed that it was Nicole Wallace. Now they found out that Wallace was dead and Goren almost went off the rails when he realized that his nemesis got herself killed.

_Or was it an act? What is Goren keeping from me? How many skeletons does he himself have in his closet? After all he's one hell of an actor. I've seen him more than once in full flight._ His insides clenched. _It was difficult for me to learn to trust him and he still seems to have his reservations towards me. I thought that we reached a stage of mutual respect, but I can feel it crumbling now._

He felt as if he was missing a vital piece of information.

_Goren is the key, but I'm pretty sure that he won't cooperate._

His thinking led him to a logical conclusion and he got his cell phone out to make a call.

xXx

Alex Goren entered the familiar squad room on the eleventh floor of One Police Plaza with a peculiar feeling. When she received their captain's call she already feared the worst and braced herself against the news of Bobby being injured or worse. But Ross only asked her to come in for a talk in private. Where Bobby was she did not know, supposedly at work with Bishop. Dismissing her initial idea of calling her husband she went to her mother to ask her to look after Ronny and Naomi, and drove to Manhattan.

Now she approached Ross's office and stepped through the open door. Following the captain's inviting gestures she sat down in one of the chairs opposite of his desk.

"Okay," she said. "Here I am. What is so important that you could not talk on the phone about it?"

"Did you know that your partner requested a paternity test?"

_No, I didn't._ Alex's heart skipped a beat when she heard about it. _Did he do what I think he did? Why did he not talk with me about it? Does he already have the result? I guess he does…_

"This is the first time I'm hearing about it," she told him.

"Your partner actually believes Brady could be his father?" Ross queried, slipping out of his jacket and hanging it on the rack in the corner.

_That's a good question,_ Alex thought. Aloud she said, "Well, he knows Brady's relationship with his mom continued after her marriage.

"And he has lived with that for a year." Ross almost sounded accusatory. "Now he gets the paternity results… suddenly the spree begins."

"What do you saying?" Alex as stunned. Did Ross really believe what he was saying? He could not honestly suspect Bobby to be a killer.

"The victims: his estranged brother, his former mentor…"

"You and I both know that he had nothing to do with these murders." Alex jumped up from her chair, ready to defend her partner.

"Then rule him out," Ross suggested with a deadly seriousness in his voice that made Alex uncomfortable.

_He means exactly what he is saying,_ she thought. _My only choice to convince him will be proving that Bobby is innocent._

"He's gone after getting a call, said that he would meet Gage."

_Gage? So he finally heard of him._

"Out of respect for you I thought I would ask you those question instead of just ordering someone to do it," Ross explained. "Now you have the opportunity to prove your point. Bishop can help you."

Alex scowled at her captain but kept herself from making any sarcastic reply. She knew that the fastest way to get him off Bobby's back was to do as she was asked, no, ordered, even though everything inside of her screamed against it. So she wordlessly got up and left the office to join Bishop at her own desk to ask her for her assistance.

tbc…


	17. Chapter 17

**Roots and Seeds**

a Law and Order: CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Dick Wolf still has not agreed to sell them, so they're not mine. This is just for fun and practice.

**17**

Getting the call from Declan had surprised Bobby. He wondered why he had not answered his calls earlier and so he awaited his former mentor's arrival anxiously. While he waited he watched the passer-bys out on the street and sipped at his coffee from time to time. He had not known the diner before but it was easy enough to find and the coffee was drinkable. He desperately needed coffee. Screaming Naomi had made that necessary. A caffeine boost was very welcome.

_I still can't believe that Nicole is dead. It can't be her. Not like that. It's impossible._

Massaging his throbbing temples he tried to clear his head. He had to concentrate on the case not get lost in his irrational grief.

Grief it was, he realized. He grieved for Nicole Wallace. Even though she had forced it on him he mourned for the mother of his daughter.

For now Bobby had to quit his musings because Declan Gage entered the diner and strode directly over to his table by the window.

"Hello, Bobby," Declan greeted.

Bobby just acknowledged his presence with a nod. "I tried to call," he said as Declan dropped in the chair opposite of him.

"I know. I'm sorry. I couldn't answer your calls right then." He stopped a waitress with a gesture, ordering, "Coffee and two pieces of apple pie, please. Thank you."

"Where have you been?" Bobby spat, venting his concern for his former mentor. "Why did you leave the hospital? You would've been safe there!"

"I didn't feel safe, Bobby. If she wanted to get me then she would eventually. I didn't intend on waiting for her."

Silence fell and Bobby took another gulp of his coffee.

"So, what about Miss Wallace? Did you catch her yet?" Declan wanted to know.

Bobby hesitated just for a moment. "She's dead."

"Dead?" Declan sounded honestly surprised. "Did you shoot her?"

"No."

Declan nodded thoughtfully. The waitress served his order and Declan paid for both of them.

"How did she die? Was it an accident?"

Leaning forward and keeping his voice low to avoid other guests hearing what he had to say he told Declan, "I got a package that contained her heart."

"Wow! That's inventive. How did you get it?"

"In a card I received she hinted at a certain place where I then found the box."

"So, she led you to her own heart."

"That's what the M.E. wants me to believe."

"Yeah, but you don't!" Declan exclaimed with an enthusiasm as if he just discovered that the earth was a globe and not a disc. "Or maybe you just can't accept it. Your greatest nemesis, brought down by someone else."

Frowning deeply Bobby glowered at him and waited for him to continue. When Declan spoke again he sounded like a precocious professor.

"Fine, working theory… Nicole had a partner who turned on her."

Leaning back in his chair Bobby contemplated that assumption. His features contorted with concentration. "So-someone who… knows her history with me.

With a broad smile Declan held up his hands in a way of presentation. "You."

"Me."

Declan paused for a few seconds for effect. "You're being set up. They're probably already investigating. Like I was," across the table he slapped Bobby with his hat, "when Eames was kidnapped. I never blamed you. C'mon!" He pushed one plate over to Bobby. "Don't you want your pie? C'mon."

Reluctantly Bobby tasted the apple pie. It was good. Realizing only now that he was actually hungry he devoured it with just a few forkfuls.

"Hmm, my daughter was very clever," Declan said out of the blue, remembering how she had framed him.

"How is Jo?" Bobby wanted to know, now that Declan raised the subject.

"She's very well, considering. The irony is we spend more time together now than ever before. She's an intriguing case…"

His voice trailed off and he wiped at his mouth with a paper napkin. He got up and gathered his brief case. Leaning over to Bobby he told him, "Go through your case files. It's someone from your past. Don't rule anyone out. You'll have to ask yourself, Bobby: Who benefits from all this?"

He made a prompting gesture, pushing Bobby to make the right conclusion, turned around and left the diner.

Bobby remained sitting for another moment. He knew that he should return to work, but he was not in the mood for anything but his brooding. So far he did not know what Declan meant even though he felt like he was just about to figure it out. Finally he picked up his binder and left, too.

xXx

Alex was not happy with checking her husband's telephone records. _Next thing I know Ross will ask me for his alibi._

She worked together with Bishop and when they went to meet Ross in interrogation room two Bishop did the talking.

"Goren's luds and cell records. No calls to Phoenix or Pittsfield."

"He's smart enough to use a no name cell, someone else's email." He shrugged. "Just a theory."

"Based on nothing," Alex retorted.

That was when a man came in without bothering to knock first, already starting to talk, "Hey, Captain, I've gone through those accounts you gave me…" He stopped awkwardly when he spotted Alex.

"Simmons is taking a look at your partner's finances," Ross explained the sudden appearance of their coworker.

"Ask me!" Alex exploded. "My _husband _had medical bills. He went six months without a paycheck. He's not flush!"

"She's right," Simmons confirmed hesitantly, reading from his papers. "He's got credit union loans, he's got charge card debts and he pays the minimum."

"You've looked at life insurance?" Ross demanded to know.

"Uh, not yet. Just… take one second," he threw his clipboard on the table and rushed over to the laptop, "to run the check."

"Start with Frank Goren," Ross ordered.

"Frank?" Alex was stunned. Why would he ask for Frank? Well, the detective in her knew the reason, but as Bobby's wife she avoided that thought. "He lived hand to mouth. He didn't have a job or credit. How could he have life insurance?"

"Well, this has just popped up. A Gen Life policy in Frank Goren's name." Straightening up from his crouching position in front of the computer he adjusted his glasses. "It is for 500,000 dollar."

"Who is the beneficiary?" Ross asked unapologetically.

"William Brady," Simmons told him.

Silence fell over the interrogation room. Bishop did not know what that meant, but Ross and Alex knew it. Shooting Alex a dark glance Ross left for his office.

Shrugging helplessly at Alex Simmons hurried off, too. Bishop shuffled her papers together awkwardly and followed him.

Alex walked past her on her way to Ross office. She reached it just when the captain entered.

"There's an explanation," she said heatedly.

"William Brady is the name Goren used when he went undercover at Tates. Why is there a policy on Frank's life in that name?"

"Someone went to a lot of trouble to set Goren up!" she fired her theory at him, but he would not listen to her.

"I'll have to go upstairs with this…" he told her, stuffing files into his briefcase. "Get him a psych consultation."

Exactly that moment chose Bobby to barge into his office, pushing the door open with so much momentum that the blinds clattered against the glass.

"Someone checked my luds," he started, glaring at Ross furiously. Finding Alex in the office surprised him and he needed a second to recover from the shock. "My credit union accounts… my emails… Do you think that I'm a suspect?"

He had intended to confront Ross with it, but now he accused Alex.

"Bobby… right now you _are_ a suspect," she had to admit. "But I'm…"

"Do you think I'm capable of something like that?" he pushed.

Now was not the time to back down, though she could clearly see the hurt in his dark chocolate eyes. He felt betrayed and she could not resent him that feeling.

"You called Frank the night he was murdered, Detective," Ross told him. "Did you go over to his apartment when he didn't answer?"

Bobby snorted. "You think that I would kill my own brother?"

"You're a detective," Ross stated the obvious. "What should I think? You're under sustained stress. Your mother's death, your suspension…" He made a pause for effect. "Your father?"

From the entrance Bobby slowly walked up to Ross, measuring him with his intense gaze.

"My father?!" he screamed, punching with his left hand at Ross's direction without the intent of actually hitting him. Then he added accusatorily, "Your girlfriend tell you that?"

Unnoticed by the men Alex shook her head. What Bobby was doing was not a good idea.

"You don't have the guts to ask me yourself?" Bobby accused his captain, his agitation clearly audible in his voice.

"I'm asking you now."

For a fleeting moment Bobby looked as if he would shed tears of rage. Then he calmly went to the door where he opened his binder to take out a few pages.

"You wanna pry? Here!" he shouted, throwing the pages to Ross's feet at the floor. "Knock yourselves out!"

"That's not what this is about," Alex tried to reason with him, but all she got as response was an awfully hurt look. _We'll have a pleasant evening tonight,_ she mused.

"Yeah, my father, he was a killer," Bobby said, considerably calmer now. Actually he was forcing himself to reduce the volume of his voice. It was hard. He went to the door and opened it, then he approached Ross again. "Now, so I'm that, too. Is that it?" he challenged, towering right in front of Ross who did not back off. "Yeah, I'm a killer."

Both men tried to face each other down. They stood in a staring contest, also trying to judge each other.

Bobby shrugging just his right eyebrow finally ended the wordless fight.

That was it.

Nothing more.

Ross's opinion about him was revealed. His captain actually believed that he could be a killer. He did not trust him. Whatever fragile respect had been built between the two men before was destroyed in the moment the captain would not back down and offer him the possibility that he was wrong with his point of view.

Bobby had seen enough, he had heard enough. Turning on his heals he strode out of the office and out of the squad room.

Ross bent down to pick up the papers.

"Let him go," he said to Alex who was about to follow Bobby.

"You're happy captain?" she wanted to know. "That worked for you?"

Ross did not shy back from her either.

"The question had to be asked. And here is our answer," he told her, waving the papers in front of her. He already had spotted what he was searching for. "Mark Ford Brady _is_ Robert Goren's biological father."

"So this means Goren is suddenly capable of murder?" Alex tried not to let her shock show. Even though she had had her own suspicions about Bobby's paternity learning the truth still had a deep impact on her.

"You have a better suspect?" Ross dared her.

Alex needed a short moment to collect herself. She was determined to prove that the captain was wrong with his assumption.

"No, but I have a witness," she told him. "My partner would tell you, with serial killers the most important interview is with someone who survives."

It was clear who she meant and Ross could not see any reason not to follow that lead.

"Okay," he agreed. "Bring Gage in. But Bishop will lead the interview. Clear?"

"Crystal."

tbc…


	18. Chapter 18

**Roots and Seeds**

a Law and Order: CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Dick Wolf still has not agreed to sell them, so they're not mine. This is just for fun and practice.

A/N: Thank you for your nice reviews. It makes me happy that you like it. Enjoy.

**c****hapter 18**

Alex had no idea where Bobby had gone. He stormed out of the squad room and where he went next she could only guess. She just hoped that he would not do anything stupid.

_Hope he'll just head home,_ she thought and, taking that thought as a reminder, got her cell phone out to call her mother and tell her that she would not be back as soon as she had expected.

"What's going on?" Bishop asked when she returned to their desk to try and phone Declan Gage.

"Bobby… he noticed that we did a background check on him."

"He did not look pleased."

"Well, he wasn't."

While Bishop dug into her files again Alex tried the only telephone number she knew for Declan Gage and was lucky. He agreed to be there in about half an hour.

"I've got to have something done," Alex told Bishop. "I'll be right back."

With that Alex left the squad room. She was back right in time to see Declan enter a task room together with Captain Ross. Bishop waited for her by the door and both women stepped inside, Bishop pulling the door closed behind them. Alex sat down at the table, opposite of Ross, while Declan remained standing.

"Dr. Gage," Ross started. "We would like to go through your attack again. Can you please tell us what happened?"

The profiler was bending over to closer examine a photo of the dead Frank Goren tacked to the pinboard.

"There is not much to tell," he said, still studying the picture. "I was asked to give a speech at John J. and that was what I did. Hmmm, so I just finished my lecture and when I was going down the staircase someone bumped me and, uh…" he straightened up to look at the autopsy photo next, "I woke up in the hospital."

"Before you said that it was a woman," Bishop corrected him from where she was standing at the other end of the board.

"Did I?" Declan appeared to be confused. "It happened so fast."

"While you were giving your talk, did you notice anyone or anything out of the ordinary?" Bishop shot her next question.

Before she could quite finish Declan spoke up, "I do not look at my audience. I lecture from notes." He dropped in the chair right beside Alex. "Now I stay glued to my cards, or I go off on tangents, you see?"

"Dr. Gage, before all this, were you in touch with Detective Goren?"

"Didn't I see you at his mother's funeral?" Declan took his hat off and smashed it on the tabletop. "I also saw you at the wedding, didn't I?" He paused, looking Ross up and down challengingly. "You moved off Nicole Wallace as a suspect," he queried. "Why?"

Just for a second Ross hesitated. "The postmark on Nicole's heart. The heart was removed before you were poisoned."

Well, they got Declan's attention with that. Thoughtfully he watched Ross, evaluating what the captain was hinting at. He frowned.

"It's not Bobby," Declan said. "It's not possible."

"You're sure?"

"He's certainly not the one who bumped into me. That I would have noticed!" Indignantly he measured Ross with an intense gaze, then he scooted forward in his chair. "He is caught… in a trap! Set up by someone close to him. Maybe even you." With the index finger of his long, slender hands, he pointed at Alex.

"Excuse me?"

"You care about your partner," Declan mused aloud. "Deeply. That's why you married him. And you know more about him than…"

"I don't need to listen to this," Alex panted and got up from her place, glaring daggers at Declan. "You can have the room." And with that she stormed out.

"Oh!" Declan said, dryly amused, watching her disappear in the hall with his gaze.

Ross did not think that that was funny. "That was uncalled for."

Declan did not react to the captain's accusatory tone.

"We have to look at all the options, Captain," he explained, curious excitement carrying in his voice. "Now we're back to Bobby. Now why would he snap? Why now? Hm? In midlife. Any psychopathology would have manifested itself earlier. Or…

"Or, Doctor?" Ross prodded.

"Or lay dormant until some sort of inciting incident." He let his words hang in the air for a moment. "It would have to be something major, something that shakes his foundation to the core." Studying Ross he waited for a reaction that did not come. "But this looks like revenge. And everyone in Bobby's life, including you, me, Eames even, has to be…"

Ross's cell phone beeped

"…a suspect. That doesn't surprise me, actually."

Ross looked at his cell, alarmed.

"Genius can be very difficult," Declan continued while Ross got up, still studying the phone, "to live with." Annoyed he looked at Ross who just left the office.

"Are you even listening to me, Captain?" Declan shouted, but the captain already was out of earshot.

xXx

Alex did not know where she was going either, but the moment she stepped out of One Police Plaza she saw Bobby head back in. His expression alarmed her. He appeared to be furious and she could not resent him that. She hesitated to follow him, because she thought he was angry at her, and rightly so. Still he would have to accept that she and Ross could not act differently. They had to rule him out.

_It worked for me but not for Ross,_ Alex thought. _The captain really believes that it was Bobby, doesn't he?_

Looking at the direction Bobby had vanished into Alex tried to decide what she should do. He really was in a bad mood. Where could he have gone? Tentatively she turned back to follow Bobby… and saw that Ross was on his way to the morgue in a hurry.

_Oh, shit!_ Alex thought, rushing after him.

In the morgue, Bobby was raging, trashing the autopsy room.

"This is my life!" Alex heard him scream painfully when she still was several yards away from the door. "You promised me that this would be confidential! You promised me!"

Ross was right in front of her. Upon entering he barked, "Detective!"

Bobby stopped, letting his arms drop on his sides. He still looked angry… and hurt.

Ross turned to Rodgers, "Are you alright?"

"Fine," the medical examiner confirmed. "I… I dropped my tray. Nothing is broken or damaged."

"Let's go for a walk," Alex said to Bobby, tentatively reaching out to touch him, but thinking better of it. When she turned to leave Bobby followed her without further ado. Alex waited until they were out on the street before she tried to reason with him.

"I was trying to clear you."

"Good tactic," he grumbled.

"But there's an insurance policy on your brother, payable to a Swiss bank account in the name of William Brady."

Bobby was stunned. "But… This is an insurance policy on Frank?"

Her look clearly gave her thoughts away. Yes, it was. Bobby felt as if he got punched into his stomach, getting winded. The air left his lungs in a rush as he struggled to come to terms with what Alex implied.

"Someone's gas lighting you," she said, looking up at him, searching for a sign of recognition or realization, but there was nothing.

"That's what Declan said." Bobby's voice sounded toneless. He still was torn between betrayal, rage, trust, and love.

Alex looked at him pleadingly, unsure what to think, searching for answers but Bobby looked as helpless as she did.

"Why don't we go back to my parents? Now that Nicole is out of the picture we won't have to stay there. We could move back home."

Bobby just stood and stared straight ahead, uncertain of what to do. Alex got a feeling that he was not going to make any decision soon.

"C'mon, Bobby," she said. "Let's go."

Coaxing him to her car was not difficult at all. He simply walked along by her side, letting himself be pushed into the passenger seat without any fuss. So she climbed into the driver's seat and drove themselves home to her parents' house.

"Hey, Alex!" Helen Eames rushed down the stairs to greet her. "I'm so glad that you're back!"

"Why? What's wrong?" Alex asked, sounding alarmed.

"Ronny is a little angel," Helen gasped, "but the girl, Naomi… she just doesn't stop. I don't know what to do! She doesn't stop, she doesn't stop!"

From upstairs a bloodcurdling scream waved down to the small group.

_Oh, no…_ Without hesitation Alex ran up the stairs. In the guest room that they had changed to a children's room Naomi lay in her cradle and screamed her lungs out. Quickly Alex stepped to her side and picked her up, rocking her gently in her arms and humming a soothing melody.

Naomi screamed.

"Are you hungry, sweetheart?" Alex asked. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her mother stand under the door. "When did she eat?"

"She didn't eat much," Helen told her. "She only suckled a bit on the bottle, but each time I tried to feed her she wouldn't drink."

"Then she must be hungry." Alex was worried for the little girl who was still screaming. "Mom, please hold her for a moment."

"Sure."

While her mother held the child Alex shrugged out of her jacked and opened her blouse and bra. Then she took Naomi back in her arms and brought her into position, but the girl would not drink.

"What's wrong with you, baby?" she purred. "C'mon, Naomi. You need to eat, hm. C'mon."

"Maybe she's sick?" Helen suggested.

"I don't think so. She's just an excessive screamer." Once more Alex changed Naomi's position and shoved her head against her chest, pushing the firm nub between her lips.

Naomi screamed.

Alex sighed.

"Let me hold her for a moment," Bobby suggested.

"And how do you want to feed her?" Alex wanted to know. "I can hear her little stomach growl. She must be hungry, but she wouldn't eat."

Invitingly Bobby reached out for Naomi. "I thought that's what breast pumps are for," he teased.

Scowling Alex shoved the girl in his arms and went to make Naomi a bottle. Bobby followed her what she did not even notice at first, because Naomi had stopped screaming.

"That's not true, is it?" Helen was stunned. "She must feel that you're her father."

"Now let's see if you can feed her," Alex teased, "Mommy."

"Very funny."

Still Bobby sat down with her on the sofa, gently pushed the nipple of the bottle between her lips… and Naomi started to suckle.

"I can't believe it!" Alex rolled her eyes. "Okay. You'll feed her and I'll go to look after Ronny."

"Okay."

Smiling lovingly at his daughter Bobby leaned back into the cushions. Right at that moment it did not matter how she was conceived. Naomi was his daughter. Half of the DNA she carried was inherited from him, a fact that no one could change.

Naomi drank happily and in the blink of an eye the bottle was emptied. Grinning happily at her Bobby put the bottle aside and tickled her stomach. She burped and when he put her down on a nest of pillows she yawned and fell asleep.

When Alex returned about fifteen minutes later she found them still on the sofa. Incredulously she looked down at Naomi who was still sleeping. Sighing she dropped down in the cushions on the other side of her husband.

"How did you do that?"

"I don't know," Bobby admitted, grinning at her and pushing a strand of her blond hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry."

_Oh, man. He always is sorry. What is it this time?_ "Why?"

"For reacting like I did. Is Ronny sleeping, too?"

"Yes, he is." For a moment she just sat and gently let her hand run up and down Bobby's right thigh. "I'm sorry, too."

"But you don't have a reason to be sorry," Bobby said. "You were right. I know that." He took a deep breath. "Honestly, if I were leading the investigation I would have suspected me, too."

"We had to rule you out, Bobby, and I'm not sorry that we did it behind your back, that's our job. I'm sorry that we had to add that to the stress you're still under."

"I understand that, Alex. It's okay."

"No, it's not… but we had no choice."

"I know." Smiling lovingly at her he kissed her forehead. "It just doesn't mean that it did not hurt."

"I'm sorry."

"Stop," he ordered her harshly. "Stop apologizing or we'll still be doing it tomorrow."

"Okay."

Craning her neck she found his lips and breathed a kiss on them. She felt his hand slip behind her head and his fingers thread into her hair. Tenderly he held her in place when he intensified the kiss. Passionately he exerted more pressure and moved his lips in a light massage. Then he pushed his tongue out, prodding Alex to open up to him, and when she did he dove in to taste her. She responded by twirling her own tongue around his and pushing for entrance herself. When he let her in she explored his teeth and the roof of his mouth, reveling in his masculine taste.

"Whaaah!"

"I thought she's sleeping!" Alex panted when they separated.

"That's what I thought, too." Bobby looked over his shoulder at Naomi who fell silent. He chuckled. "Maybe she just doesn't want to share my attention."

"Reminds me of someone…"

Awkward silence lay between them for a moment after Alex's careless remark. She did not want to remind Bobby of Nicole, but now it was said and she could not take it back.

"Yeah," he finally said. "There's still something we'll have to find out, though."

"Yes?"

"Sure. _Who_ is trying to frame me?"

"Who's got a motive?" Alex rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Whoever planned this scheme put a lot of effort and time into it. Who's so persistent?"

"I have an idea…" he mused.

"Really? Why didn't you say so earlier? We could have checked him out right after the scene in the office. C'mon, Bobby. Who is he?"

"He's no he."

xXx

How often he had been at prison during his career Bobby did not know. Countless times he had visited and interrogated inmates. This time he came to visit a friend.

At the entrance for visitors he put his cell phone into a box and passing a metal detector he entered the prison. From there he was led to the prison's hospital ward.

And that was where he was waiting now.

"Detective Goren!"

When he looked up he saw a dark haired woman in blue scrubs and a white doctor's jacket, a stethoscope around her neck, come through the barred door to the infirmary. "You're here to see Jo Gage?"

"Yeah," Bobby confirmed. Chills ran down his back. Suddenly he had an uneasy feeling at the thought that Jo had to be treated at the infirmary.

"You should have called," the doctor said.

Thoughtfully Bobby nodded. "I was afraid that she would tell her father that I would come for a visit, so…"

"That's highly unlikely," she told him. "She's still in a coma."

_Coma?_ The chills became colder and an icy hand seemed to grab for his insides.

"Extreme blood loss deprived the brain of oxygen," the doctor explained. "Psychic just cleared Jo for visitation."

Bobby's confusion was obvious, so she took mercy on him and gave him the details, "The morning of her father's visit we found her in her cell. She had bitten her tongue off."

It was like a kick in the guts.

For a moment Bobby was speechless. When his brain finally kickstarted again he made some connections. Confirmations would be great.

"Where can we talk in private, Dr. Baines?" he read from her name tag.

Judging his expression she realized that it would be better if she talked with him now.

"This way," she told him and led the way to her office.

tbc…


	19. Chapter 19

**Roots and Seeds**

a Law and Order: CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Dick Wolf still has not agreed to sell them, so they're not mine. This is just for fun and practice.

A/N: Thank you for your reviews. I'm a little sad that you don't like Naomi. Okay, she's a little difficult, but they still have to get to know each other. Special thanks to _Bammi1_ for beta-reading. Enjoy!

**Chapter**** 19**

"Did you see her?" Alex wanted to know after Bobby explained to her what happened to Jo Gage. Once more they were sitting on the sofa, this time on their own at home in the Rockaways. Alex had not taken no for an answer and packed their stuff to move back home with the help of her parents while Bobby went to see Jo at prison.

"Only very shortly," he said. Naomi lay in his arm and drank her last bottle for the day. "I didn't want to disturb her, so I only stood by the door when Dr. Baines went in to check on her."

"So she's quite bad off, huh?"

"Yeah."

Naomi had finished her bottle and yawned.

"You tuck her in," Alex told him. "If I'd try to put her to sleep she'd only cry again."

That made Bobby chuckle. "She'll realize that you only want her best."

"Yeah, I want her to sleep peacefully… so that we can sleep peacefully. Do you hear me, young lady? Learn your lesson from your brother and sleep."

Bobby grinned. "You _will_ sleep, sweetheart, won't you? C'mon." He carried her up to the children's room, changed her diapers, tucked her in, and went back down about fifteen minutes later. When he sat down with Alex he noticed how tense she was.

"What's wrong, Alex? Are you worrying that she'll scream again?"

"A little," she admitted. "But that's not what was on my mind."

"So what was?"

"Do you think that Jo could have tried to frame you? She's in prison. She was in a coma… I heard about prisoners taking revenge, but she neither appeared to be that resentful toward you nor could she direct other people's actions while she was in the coma."

"I don't think that it was her."

He sounded tired, but when Alex searched his gaze he looked alert. Obviously it was more an emotional exhaustion. His huge sigh now testified to his weariness.

"So, who do you think it was?"

When he now met her gaze he also looked tired.

"You'll help me with Ross, right?"

"Sure I'll help you," Alex agreed. "Don't be silly. So who?"

"I'll need you in interrogation, too, but I also have to ask you to leave in time. I'll have to do that on my own. I'll have to confront him."

Deep emotional pain stood in his eyes and a single tear rolled over his cheek. So Alex reached out for him to pull him into a huge hug.

"I'll do whatever is necessary," she murmured into his ear. "You know that, don't you?"

"Hm hmmm."

Soothingly rubbing circles on his back she held him close and hummed a calming melody until she felt him relax in her arms. She could not help but sigh, too. Life with Bobby Goren sure was interesting and fulfilling, but it could also be demanding.

xXx

Taking a deep breath Bobby sat down in his chair in the interrogation room while Alex leaned against the wall right beside the door. Last night they had made a plan and this morning they went to Ross to suggest it. He was not pleased at first, but their arguments were substantial and so he agreed with their plan.

When he went to make the call they were asking him for Ross still looked skeptical. He was a man of solid evidence. Whenever Bobby Goren came to him and said that he would solve and close a case in the interrogation room, getting a confession, it made him uneasy. He trusted his detective's abilities, but it still left him anxious if they did not have enough evidence to prove their case up their sleeves.

They did not talk. They had done all the talking at home and in Ross's office. They understood each other without words.

Bobby took a deep breath to calm himself. He did not like his working theory, but it was the best they had and the most logical. Now he just had to prove their point.

He did not like it.

"I appreciate you coming." From outside they heard Ross speak as he approached interrogation with their prime suspect.

"Does… does Bobby know I'm here?"

Bobby's insides constricted when he heard Declan Gage ask the captain who answered, "He asked for you."

Now they had reached the room and Ross gestured Declan inside.

"Bobby?" Declan said upon entering, and Ross closed the door behind him. A glance over his shoulder revealed that Alex was there, too. "Oh… your partner's here, huh?"

"Yeah," Alex confirmed coldly. "I was just telling him how you think I'm responsible for killing his brother."

Declan chuckled. "Well, that was one working theory."

Pushing herself off the wall Alex asked, "But why would I do that now? When I need, what did you tell the captain, some… terrible trauma?"

"Well, you've had those, haven't you?" Declan said, rather cheerfully. "In spades. PTSD, pat of anger." He huffed, amused. "It's all there."

"It's still there, alright," Alex agreed, standing right in front of the profiler, facing him down. "But not toward my partner." _And husband,_ she added to herself. _Don't go there. Stay professional._ She turned to Bobby, "If you think he can help you, you're both out of your minds." Shooting one more angry look at Declan Alex left the interrogation room.

"Does she remind you of your mother?" Declan asked once the door fell shut behind her.

"C'mon. Knock it off." Bobby knew he had to play, but that did not mean that he liked it.

"Or Nicole?" Declan pushed and cackled. "No, I wouldn't think so. I mean, those two women you never knew quite what to expect," he made quite a show of taking off his hat and putting it on the table, "but that's what made them so exciting, isn't it?" Expectantly he looked Bobby up and down. He refused to react yet. "It's tough, you know, staying engaged when you are always two steps ahead of everyone else in the room."

Bobby sighed. "It's not Eames."

"Why? She lacks the nerve, huh?"

_Do you really think my _wife_ would do that to me or are you just trying to tease me?_ Bobby became quite annoyed and did his best to hide it.

"No."

"Imagination then. What did Reagon call it, um…" Declan chuckled, fishing for words, "the vision thing?"

"That was Bush."

"Was it?" Declan tilted his head, honestly confused. Then he laughed, "Talk about your father issues."

"Well, are we talking about father issues?"

"Isn't that what it's all about? C'mon, Bobby! You waited a year to check, uh, Brady's DNA. Why?"

The rather challenging _why_ hang in the air between them and demanded an answer. Bobby's stomach rolled, but he had no choice.

"You knew about my paternity test. How come you to say something to the captain?" he accused his former mentor.

"You told me that in confidence. You… Don't change the subject! I… I get lost when you do that!"

"I wasn't afraid of the test," Bobby told him calmly, almost disinterested.

"Well, that's right!" Declan exclaimed. "Because you always knew! I mean, the moment you met Mr. Brady you, you, you… did it all make sense?"

Expectantly Bobby looked up at him. For the whole time Declan had remained standing but Bobby refused to rise to the bait.

"Your whole life your mother's husband never showed you love. And your mother, despite everything you did for her, she preferred that… cankerous brother of yours to you." He was talking himself into mild agitation. "Why would that be?"

Declan challenged him with a prodding nod.

"She knew that I could take care of myself," Bobby told him, knowing that that would annoy his former mentor and pull him deeper into their game. So he topped it off, "She worried about him."

"Yeah, she did. Didn't she?" Declan mused. He seemed to be content with analyzing Bobby's early family life. "So you did what you could for him. You put him back in touch with your mom… at the end… and what did he do? Hm?"

Bobby offered him an undecided, thoughtful look, bordering on appearing lost.

"Hm?" Declan pushed and continued when Bobby did not answer, "He betrayed you. He tricked you into putting your career on the line for a nephew you never even knew existed. Alright, alright…" Now Declan took his jacket off, put it over the back rest of his chair and finally sat down opposite of Bobby, clearing his throat. "There's a theme here. Bobby, did you ever ask yourself why?" Leaning on the tabletop Declan prodded Bobby for a response. "Why nobody ever came through for you? You think it was your fault?"

"Yes, I've thought that," Bobby told him what he wanted to hear.

"It isn't, you know. They failed you. You did everything you could for them. And more."

Tentatively Bobby nodded. Then he made the gesture more distinctively. Declan was not the only one who could put up a show. Then, as if it was hard for him to admit he said, "Thanks."

"Just like I did for Jo."

"You think you did everything you could for Jo?"

"I did the best I could," Declan defended himself. "I'm a single parent."

In Bobby's opinion he was being cynical. Sure, Declan had been traveling around the globe, always on the hunt for serial killers or interviewing murderers to refine his profiling skills. From what Jo had told him one of Declan's ideas of entertaining his daughter was giving her the name of a killer and getting the details of his crime from her in return. She had no friends because all she could talk about were crime scene investigations and psychological assessments. As soon as they talked more than five sentences the others would feel like they were being analyzed and left Jo standing alone.

_So much for doing the best he could…_

"You told me that your relationship with her has never been better," Bobby said, fixating his former mentor accusingly. "And… she's in a coma."

Declan rested his left elbow on the tabletop and tapped his bottom lip with his index finger.

"I didn't want to upset you," he said. "I know you two were close in your way… and… you had enough going on."

"You're good. Hm… For a man with diminishing capacity you still hold your own." Bobby got up and wandered around in the corner of the room.

"Diminishing capacity?" Declan asked back. "What are you talking about?"

"Jo's refusal to see you," Bobby asked him bluntly, "is that what pushed your mind over the edge?"

"Oh, you think I've lost it?" Declan seemed to enjoy himself. "I'm a tenured professor now." Supporting his tilted head on his peculiar spread left hand he made quite a professor like appearance. "I lecture. I write books."

"You forget to wash your hands," Bobby shot back. "You eat candy right out of the wrapper."

"Oh, am I a bad boy, huh?" Declan chuckled.

"You ate month old Christmas dinner." Bobby stood beside the table, eyeing the man intently. Even for his trained eyes he did not look like someone who lost his marbles. But if he was sane… That thought was even harder to bear. "What's the matter? The thought that the food has turned never came to you?"

"I get busy with my work…" Declan simply said, holding up his hands in an innocent gesture. He always was good at gestures. The profiler also knew that Bobby would use reading his body language to influence their game.

"Executive function."

So Bobby did not take the bait. "You wanna do the Wisconsin card test?" Declan spat. "The strobe?"

"I don't need to. Your frontal lobes have blown out. Okay? It's too much formaldehyde, drug abuse…"

"Genetic roulette," Declan interrupted Bobby's flow. "That could be a factor."

"Man with your knowledge," Bobby said. "Must have been excruciating to know what your future was, you know. You lost your judgment. Your lack of ambition… there's no meds for that."

"There is occupational therapy," Declan followed Bobby's lead. "I'll make, uh, hm, phhh," he struggled for words, "um, collages." He chuckled without real amusement.

"You know… you do that already."

By now Bobby had lost all semblance of compassion. Leaning forward on the table he got into Declan's face in his best suspect intimidating posture. Declan actually looked worried if not to say scared.

"You cut and paste… pieces of my life together."

Bobby's voice had just the hint of pain in it and Declan reacted to it at once.

"Very good, Bobby!" he praised. "Maybe now…"

"You did this, didn't you?" Bobby wagged his index finger at him. "You killed my brother!"

"No, no… That was Nicole."

Smiling smugly at the detective Declan leaned back in his chair.

Thoughtfully Bobby shifted his position a few times before he straightened up to face Declan down.

"How did you find her?"

That clearly amused Declan, "Ha, ha! My latest book! I wrote about women serial killers. Like Jo, like her. I knew she'd find it, then find me."

His manic laughter chased chills down Bobby's back.

"She tried to seduce me, Bobby!" Declan cheered and slapped Bobby's middle with the back of his hand in horrifying amusement. "I think you and I may be the only two men who said no to her. It's the only way to engage her."

"Yeah… And once," Bobby sat back down, "once you engaged her…?"

"I convinced her that I… was furious with you… about Jo. She said she missed having a partner."

Drawing in a slightly shuddering breath Bobby closed his eyes. He was not sure if he could finish this interrogation. Could he bring his former mentor down like he had planned with Alex? Could he get him to confess completely? It was so hard to bear. His chest tightened and pressed the air out of his lungs.

Forcing himself to open his eyes again Bobby said, "And my brother? That was her idea?"

"I let her think so. I knew she could get at him. She said it didn't take much, a little smile, a little prick…"

Making a pained face Bobby shook his head. It was all he could do to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. His emotional agony choked up his voice, "You… son of a bitch!"

"He was going down anyway," Declan insisted with an air of absolute ease. Obviously he believed he had done Bobby a favor. He had to explain himself, "Bobby, I didn't want him taking you with him."

"You did this for me?" Bobby felt as if his heart had been ripped out of his body.

"No…" Declan took off his glasses. "For both of us. After Jo I had no one. And you, you…" Helplessly he waved his hands. It looked as if he wanted to embrace Bobby. "You're the son I've never had. When… when I saw you at your mother's funeral you broke my heart. I wanted you to engage again. So I gave you a puzzle… to solve, to play!"

"A puzzle?" Tears almost drowned out his voice and his features contorted with emotional agony. "You think that I needed her to get back in the game?"

"Precisely."

"You saw me at the wedding, too! What did you think? Did you think?"

Bobby had to fight not to lose his composure. He sensed how his body tried to tremble with tension, but he denied himself to give in to his grief.

"I'll tell, Bobby." Declan was unapologetic. "Let me tell about Nicole first. So she poisoned Frank, followed our plan… and after she had accomplished that, naturally she turned on me, but I was waiting." His gaze became dreamy with the memory. "You should have seen her, Bobby. When she realized it was finally her time she looked up at me with those big doe eyes of hers and she said, Tell Bobby he's the only man I have ever loved." He snorted. "As if a monster like that would be capable of love. You know…"

He paused, eyeing Bobby curiously. A fatherly smile played around his lips.

"I'm curious, you know. Who… who are you gonna miss more? Nicole? Or your brother?"

"Who else," Bobby panted. "Who else did you kill? Donny?"

"Your nephew?" That thought seemed to repulse Declan. "No! I wouldn't have done that, even if I would've found him. I… How would that have helped you?"

"Helped me." Bobby could merely mumble. "Helped me." Unable to digest that he tried to at least get order in his thoughts. He felt numb. How could Declan do that? How could he actually believe he did him a favor? Tears still lurked but he could not shed them.

"You still don't see, do you?"

All Bobby could do was shake his head.

In an attempt to make him see his point Declan reached out for Bobby and cupped his cheeks with both hands.

"Ssss… You're younger than you know. You…"

Wrenching his head free Bobby fought the urge to throw up. Not so long ago he had married. He gave his life a new purpose… outside the Force. He loved his job, it was a passion, but it was not the center of his life anymore.

"Frank," Declan tried to convince him. "Nicole. Me… huh… dead weight. I wanted you to have a clean slate."

Incredulously Bobby looked at him.

As if it was the most natural thing Declan added, "You're free… now."

Unable to comprehend that Bobby stared at his former mentor. That was not true. It could not be true. No way was that true.

"Bobby… You're free!" Pleased with himself Declan leaned back in his chair.

_Free_. Bobby shuddered. _Free. What the hell does he think about Alex? Do I want to know that? Would he have tried to _free_ me from her, too? The babies!_

His throat was corded up. _If he knows that Nicole has a child with me?_ It was too much. Bobby felt nauseous. Shaking his head he tried to clear it. With some effort he pushed himself up from the chair.

His voice was cold as ice he told Declan, "Put your arms behind your back."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm arresting you. Now turn and put your arms behind your back."

"Bobby! What are you doing? How can you arrest me? What for?"

But Bobby did not listen. Furiously he stepped forward, ready to push Declan against the wall. When the profiler backed off he snarled, "Declan Gage, you're under arrest for the murder of Nicole Wallace…"

"Nicole?" Declan burst out. "You're not serious! You can't be! How's it murder? I defended myself!"

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be used against you in a court of law." The words left Bobby's mouth without him even noticing. He had spoken them so often that he functioned on auto pilot.

"Bobby! You can't do that!" Declan finally realized that he had lost their game. He realized that they were not somewhere at a diner but in a Major Case interrogation room. He realized that he was doomed to die in prison.

"You have the right to an attorney during interrogation. If you cannot afford…"

Finally Declan snapped out of his trance… and reacted completely unexpectedly. Bobby's lecture was shattered by the chair smashing through the mirror. Glass shards rained down on Bobby and Declan as well as Ross and Alex, Bishop and their new assistant district attorney, Lionel Coates.

How it happened Bobby could not even tell. Suddenly he found himself in Declan's arms, a big shard from the mirror pressing against his throat. He could already feel blood trickle down his neck.

Overcoming their initial shock the detectives and captain regained their senses and their guns flew in their hands. Assuming combat stance they aimed at Declan.

"Let go of him!" Alex yelled. "C'mon! Drop the glass!"

"Drop it!" Bishop shouted, too.

"Dr. Gage!" Ross tried to reason with him. "You have no chance to walk out of here. Just let go of Detective Goren."

Declan laughed manically.

"Maybe you should drop your guns, Captain," Declan said. "My hands are not as calm as they used to be."

"Declan," Bobby murmured, careful not to move at all, scared that the shard would do more than just break the skin. "You reached your goal. You… freed me. You… can let go now."

"No!" Declan screamed with breaking voice, pulling his arm back to stab.

_Bang!_

_Bang! Bang!_

_Bang!_

Shots from all three cops thundered. Bobby heard them, but he did not know what happened. Pain spread from his shoulder through his whole body and he staggered. Then he saw the blood, a second before he stumbled and crashed down onto the floor. For a few more seconds he fought for his consciousness before darkness took him.

tbc…


	20. Chapter 20

**Roots and Seeds**

a Law and Order: CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Dick Wolf still has not agreed to sell them, so they're not mine. This is just for fun and practice.

A/N: You liked the cliffhanger? Hehehe. I love my cliffhangers. Thanks for your reviews. Thanks as always to _Bammi1_ for beta-reading. Enjoy.

**Chapter**** 20**

Pain seemed to be all he was. His eyelids were heavy as if coal sacks were attached to them. For just a second he was blinded by bright light when he blinked before darkness tried to take him again.

"Bobby!" he heard a worried voice call out for him. He could not place it, but it sounded quite urgent. A high, female voice that demanded he obey.

"Detective Goren!"

That voice was female, too. So much was clear. Should he know it? He had a feeling that he should.

His head was bursting.

"Bobby?"

That was the second voice again. With enormous effort he opened his eyes, blinked. Everything blurred.

Someone was breathing very hard in short ragged gasps. Bobby did not realize that he heard himself fight for each breath. Why was he in so much pain?

"Bobby! Please wake up. I know you can do it. C'mon, love. Please wake up, Bobby."

_Love?_ Now Bobby was thoroughly befuddled. _Who would call me love?_

Only slowly the black clouds before his eyes faded and his vision cleared.

"He's coming back," the darker female voice said. "The bus will be here in a moment. He should be alright."

A high pitched sob right above him irritated Bobby. Who? Then, finally, memory kicked in.

"Alex?" he croaked.

"Bobby!"

When he managed to look up he saw her angelic face framed by her blond hair. A small smile quirked his lips.

"What hap…" Coughs shook his body.

"Don't talk, Bobby," Alex said, lovingly caressing his temples. "You'll be okay. Just hang in there, okay."

Turning his gaze to the left where he saw a figure beside him he now recognized Elizabeth Rodgers who was tending to his wound.

"Am I dead?" he asked, confused.

Laughter reached his still slightly fuzzy mind.

"No, Detective. You're not dead," Rodgers told him. She was pressing a thick patch of gauze on the wound on his shoulder. "You were lucky. It's just a flesh wound. You'll go to hospital for a day or two and then you'll be as good as new."

"What happened?" he wanted to know.

"Do you remember that Gage attacked you?" Alex asked back.

"Yeah."

"We shot him. One bullet grazed your shoulder."

"Declan?"

"Sorry, Bobby. He's dead."

For a moment Bobby contemplated if he was sorry, too. Now his mind worked well enough again to remember everything, including Declan tricking Nicole into killing Frankie before he killed Nicole. He had serious trouble seeing his old friend and mentor anymore in the murderer he became.

"Bobby?" Alex said anxiously.

"Yeah?"

"You seemed to be so absent."

"Thinking."

From the elevators two paramedics came with a stretcher. Together with Rodgers they pushed Bobby on the gurney. They checked his vital functions and inserted an IV to supply him with fluids and painkillers before they raised the stretcher and rolled it out toward the elevator.

Alex followed right behind them and squeezed in with them for the ride down. She stayed as close to Bobby's side as possible on the drive to the hospital and only left him alone during the examination when he was admitted.

"Do you have any idea what I should do with Naomi?" she teased when she sat beside his bed later. "She won't stop screaming until you're back home."

"Well, you could bring her here," he chuckled.

"The hell I will. Any other bright ideas?"

"Nope."

"You're such a great help," she grumbled. "But it won't change the fact that she'll be screaming endlessly. I wonder if she really senses that you're her father, or rather if she notices that I'm not a blood relative."

"Alex, don't be silly." Bobby would have liked to laugh if he would have felt better and if the situation would not have been that serious. "You are her mother, Alex."

"I'm not."

Three words. They came short and calm and left Bobby more agitated than getting shot.

"We are a family, Alex. You and I and Ronny… and Naomi. You don't need to be related by blood to be a family. It's the most simple truth, Alex."

A single tear lurked in the corner of Alex's eye. She swallowed hard.

"I love you, Alex. The kids will love you, too." He smiled at her and reached out to caress her cheek. "For us you are Naomi's mother… and Naomi will know the same."

Leaning into Bobby's gentle touch Alex closed her eyes. She had to fight with her tears. Bobby's words warmed her heart, her whole being so much. Each time he expressed his love for her she wondered what she had done to deserve his trust and love.

When they had shot Declan Gage and she saw the blood splash from his wound she had thought that the profiler had succeeded in piercing Bobby's throat. She thought that the blood came gurgling out of his neck. Alex could not remember a more horrific moment. Joe's death? She had not been present when he died. His captain and the Chief of Detectives showing up on her doorstep had been quite unreal. Seeing Bobby's blood squirt from his wound had been real. It still upset her when she remembered it.

"Maybe…" she mumbled, taking his hand and squeezing it, "maybe I should… adopt her."

Stunned Bobby stared up at her, momentarily speechless. Then he reached out for her and pulled her down into a passionate kiss.

xXx

After Alex had picked up Ronny and Naomi and arrived at home in the Rockaways she was surprised to find Captain Daniel Ross on her doorstep.

"Excuse the brusque question, Captain, but what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk with you," he simply said. "May I come in?"

"Yeah. Sure."

Alex led the way inside and wanted to take the captain's coat, but he warded off and put it on the rack himself. Then he followed her inviting gesture and went into the living room.

"I'll bring the children upstairs," Alex told him. "I'll be right back."

"No problem," Ross agreed.

While she took care of the children he used the opportunity to examine the parlor. He believed to see elements of both his detectives in its interior. For him it was easy to imagine that the big, broad sofas and matching easy chairs were selected by Bobby while she certainly chose the practical coffee table with two table tops and a drawer. It was a perfect match, though, as were the cupboards and torchiere. However, the most remarkable pieces were a forty eight inch LCD television and DVD recorder. When Ross wandered over to check out the DVD collection in the rack beside the television he could not suppress a chuckle.

"Found Bobby's movies?" Alex asked when she came back through the kitchen. Her mood had lightened up a little. Bringing the kids to bed had been surprisingly easy, at least in Naomi's case. When Alex went back downstairs both children lay peacefully in their respective beds and were about to fall asleep.

"Oh, I would've thought that you collected the movies for the kids," Ross said, allowing himself a small smirk.

"Nope." Alex smirked, too. "He's a fanatic Disney fan. Actually he collects almost every animation movie he can get. He has some rare ones I've never heard about as well as the classics, even the old Mickey Mouse films. You know, when Mickey still was in black and white."

"Yeah, I know which films you mean. My boys loved Mickey Mouse."

"I think all kids love Mickey."

"Nahhh, I don't think so. Or maybe just our neighbor's son was the exception. When our sons started to watch classic cartoons he always found an excuse to vanish back home."

Alex laughed dutifully, but she quickly became serious again.

"I find our conversation quite entertaining, Captain, but you're not here to talk with me about cartoons, right?"

With a gesture she offered him to take a seat on the couch and he followed the invitation.

"Actually, no."

"Can I offer you something to drink? Coffee? Tea? Anything else?"

"A mineral water would be fully sufficient," Ross said. "Thank you, Eames."

Alex smirked to herself when she returned to the kitchen. Sometimes it was funny how the people referred to her. She chose to adopt Bobby's last name in addition to hers so she actually was Alexandra Goren Eames. Most people who did not know her either called her Mrs. Goren Eames or just Mrs. Goren. Her colleagues called her what they were used to, Eames. Rather rarely someone addressed her by her maiden name.

"Would you like a dash of lemon, Captain?" she asked through the open doorway.

"No, Eames, thank you!"

"We also have iced tea or maybe a spritzer with fruit juice? Blackcurrant?"

"The latter would be fine, thanks."

So she came back to the couch with two glasses of sparkling water mixed with blackcurrant juice and put both down on the coffee table. Ross smiled at her and tasted his drink. Then he nodded approvingly.

"Okay, Captain. Spit it out."

"I want to apologize to you," he said candidly.

"Maybe you should apologize to Bobby," Alex suggested, sipping at her drink in order not to say more than she already had.

"I come right from the hospital," Ross told her. "Your husband told me that you had just left when I arrived. We had a long and intensive conversation."

"Hope you didn't piss him off again."

"No, I didn't," Ross chuckled. If they would have been in his office he might have been offended by her remark, but he could bear her anger here on her territory. "Actually it was a very good talk. He told me that he understands my motives."

_Bobby always understands,_ Alex thought. _That's part of the problem. The question is if he'll forgive you._

"He also let me know that he is not ready to forgive yet, and I can understand that, Eames." Ross searched eye contact with her. "I know that I have no reason to apologize for my decision, you know that we had to rule him out, but I want to apologize for the way I used you and for not trusting Goren."

Alex scowled. She was not sure if she was ready to forgive but when she let his words sink in she realized that she could not remain angry with him.

"Okay," she agreed. "Apology accepted." Once more she drank some of her juice mix. "I know that we had to do it, but you're right. I was angry at you for questioning me about his relation to Mark Ford Brady and for using my ambitions to rule him out."

"That's why I asked you to work with Bishop."

"I know. Just… maybe it would've been better if she'd have done it on her own."

Slowly he nodded his agreement.

"I'll think of it next time."

That made Alex laugh humorlessly. "Let's hope that there won't be a _next time_."

"I'll drink to that," Ross said, an honest smile quirking his lips, and raising his glass to toast. "To a future without lunatics attacking Alexandra and Robert Goren."

"Cheers," Alex grumbled, but then she had to chuckle as they clanked their glasses.

They drank and then Ross asked, "Can we bury the hatchet now?"

Alex scowled.

"You should have stopped talking while you were still on my good side," she teased and raised her glass for another toast that Ross accepted readily.

tbc…


	21. Chapter 21

**Roots and Seeds**

a Law and Order: CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Dick Wolf still has not agreed to sell them, so they're not mine. This is just for fun and practice.

A/N: Thank you for your nice reviews. It's always great to see that the effort put into a scene paid off. Thanks. Enjoy.

**Chapter**** 21**

Ross was not the only one who stopped by that day. In the late afternoon Carolyn Logan came for about an hour and was picked up by Mike then. The early evening saw Lewis climb up the stairs to her house and right after he had left Deakins called to hear if everyone was doing alright. Alex told him about Bobby being in hospital and their former captain asked for his room number so that he could visit him the next day.

The night passed unspectacularly. Ronny was the little angel he always was and Naomi seemed to sense that something happened to her father. She remained silent throughout most of the night, screaming only when she was hungry or needed a new diaper.

So Alex was rested the next day when she left to go to the headquarters and give her statement. Bishop took it together with Ross. They both were supportive and encouraged Alex. She started to feel that Bobby had a promising future at the Major Case Squad, at least where Ross was concerned. The Chief probably thought differently.

In the evening Alex drove to the hospital to take Bobby home. A thick bandage covered his shoulder and he wore a sling to immobilize his arm. Despite his protest Alex carried his bag to their car. On the drive home neither of them spoke. Both wanted to wait until they were safe in their own house.

Helen helped them to settle in.

"I put the kids to bed," she told Alex when they were cooking dinner together. She already had prepared a lot so that they mostly heated the meat and vegetables up. They made the sauce fresh and put some fries in the oven.

"Good that you hit my right shoulder," Bobby teased when they sat together at the dinner table. Being left handed he had not much trouble eating after Alex cut his meat for him. "By the way… who _did_ shoot me?"

"We're not sure," Alex said. "We all hit Declan, but there's no proof for who shot you."

"Given my luck it was Ross," Bobby said and chuckled. "I guess he'd like that."

"Bobby." Helen Eames frowned at him deeply. "Why are you saying that about your captain?"

"He's not my biggest fan, Helen."

"But does that justify your attitude towards the captain?"

"Mom…"

"No, Alex. I'd like to get an answer." Curiously she looked at Bobby.

"He earned it," Bobby said.

Helen was stunned. She definitely did not expect him to be that honest.

"Before you say something… I earned getting shot, too," Bobby added. "We can consider it even."

Behind her hand Alex was smirking at her meal.

"I don't have to understand that, do I?" Helen asked.

"No," both Bobby and Alex replied in unison. Then Alex chuckled and Helen could only shake her head.

Their conversation turned to less problematic subjects and soon they had not only finished their roast, vegetables, and fries, but also the cheesecake Helen had made while Alex was in the city.

"The meal was excellent, Helen," Bobby told her when he helped her into her coat. "We enjoyed it very much." He grinned. "And you know how much I like cheesecake."

"Yeah, Bobby, I know." With a slight frown she squinted up at him. "But if you don't let go of my coat with the hand of your injured arm I'll show you my not so nice side."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. No cheesecake for the next half year."

At once Bobby let go of the coat that she already was shrugging on now anyway.

Helen smirked. "Be a good boy and let Alex take good care of you, okay, Bobby?"

Over his shoulder Bobby glanced at Alex who looked up at him with an innocent face but a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"I'll let her take best care of me, Helen," he told his mother in law and winked at Alex who returned his gesture with a roll of her eyes.

Helen glanced at Alex, then at Bobby, and smiled. "I'll better go now. Don't forget your children."

"No way, Mom," Alex smirked. "Good night. Say hi to Dad from us."

"I will. Good night."

Both of them saw her walk down the pavement to her car and steer it off the curb. A moment later it vanished around the next corner.

"I really like your mom," Bobby said as he closed the door.

"She adores you."

"Really?"

His obvious incredulity made Alex chuckle. "Yes, she does. It has taken her a while to reach that point, but she really loves you, Bobby."

Choked up with emotions he could not answer her. All he could do was pull her in against his chest with his uninjured arm and kiss her. Then he backed up, suddenly remembering something.

"Didn't you promise to take good care of me?" he said with a lascivious glint in his eyes.

"Yes, I did," Alex grinned and her hand wandered down his front and into his pants.

"Whoa!"

"What, Bobby?" she teased. "Don't I take good care of you?"

"Yeah, you do," he confirmed. "Hm, don't you think that it would be more comfortable in bed?"

"And I thought you'd never ask."

Craning her neck she reached out for him and pulled him in for a deep kiss. They did not just stick to kissing. Bobby only needed to push a little to coax her up the stairs to their bedroom where they soon vanished beneath the covers.

About two hours and fresh diapers for Naomi later they snuggled up to each other under the blankets. Bobby was caressing Alex and she purred into his ear like the neighbor's cat when she came over for an extra session of petting. She returned his affections, making him moan. Her efforts relaxed him more and more until he was on the verge of sleep again. That was the moment Alex chose to ask her question that was burning inside of her since Ross's talk with her.

"Bobby?"

"Hmm?" he made, half asleep.

"Why didn't you tell me about the paternity test?"

From one second to the other Bobby was wide awake again.

"Alex…" he moaned before she cut him short.

"Wait a moment. I'm sorry, I started that wrong. We were talking about your mother, Frank and Brady before our wedding, but you never said something about wanting to know it for sure. A test was always out of the question for you. Why did you change your mind? And why didn't you tell me when you did?"

"Why do you ask now?"

"Don't answer me with a question, Bobby. You know that I don't ask because I feel left out, though you sometimes give that impression. I ask because I don't understand why you want to go through something like that paternity test on your own." Lovingly she smiled at him. "You don't have to go through everything all alone anymore. You can share with me, Bobby. For better or worse, to love and to cherish, till death do us part. Do you remember?"

"Yes, Alex. I remember." Pulling her back down in his embrace he took a deep breath. "I… I just did not… I did not want you to know."

"Why?"

"During the last months of your pregnancy… well, I… was reminded that Nicole also is pregnant. It… made me think about both children, yours and hers. They both are fruits of my seed, Alex. Thinking about those fruits I wondered where _my_ roots really are. It was possible that Frank was my father, but it was also possible that it was Brady. Just before she died my mom admitted that she was never sure herself."

He fell silent. Alex could feel his shuddering breaths against her own body. This was all but easy for him.

"And after you got the results?"

For another few minutes she got no response, but she sensed how tense he was and knew that he could not have been fallen asleep.

"I… did not know how… how I should tell you. You were so advanced in your pregnancy… I just… I didn't want to cause you stress and… risk a preterm delivery."

"How very considerate of you," Alex could not help but tease him. "You really think that I'm that fragile?"

"I… just didn't want to risk it," he mumbled. "And a part of me still doesn't want you to know the truth."

"But why, Bobby?"

"Because…" His voice trailed off. This seemed to be a pretty difficult subject for him. "I'm scared that… that it… that it would make a difference."

"A difference?"

"For you. I mean, now that you know… who my real father is, a serial killer. You've seen how Ross reacted…"

"Bobby! You can't be serious." Shifting her position she turned around to prop herself up on one elbow to look at him. "I don't love you for who your father was or not was! I love you because you are yourself, the most brilliant detective I've ever met and the gentlest man alive. Your heart that holds so much love for everyone and everything that is important for you."

Her sad smile corded up his throat and tightened his chest. He loved her so much and it hurt him to have caused her pain in any way.

Alex could not stand his crestfallen look and bent down to kiss him. At first he did not respond at all, but her insistent but still passionate and loving assault broke his resistance and he returned her kiss wholeheartedly.

"Bobby? Promise me something?" she asked shakily.

"What is it, Alex?"

"From now on you'll spare me such shit! Okay?"

His face contorted with painful amusement. "Okay," he agreed.

"Oh, Bobby," she sighed. "You sure make this marriage an interesting ride."

Now he could not help but chuckle. It did not carry much amusement, but it was a start and for now it was enough for Alex. She laid back down and he pulled her in his strong embrace.

"I'm so grateful to you for helping me so much with the arrangements," Bobby softly murmured in her ear.

"I love you, Bobby."

"Thank you for all your support."

"That's understood, Bobby."

"I love you, too, Alex."

She smirked at him. "You sure doesn't make it easy for me, but I love you all the more for that challenge."

Before he could say anything she silenced him with another kiss and pulled the covers up.

xXx

The next morning started early as both babies demanded Alex's attention, nutrition and a clean bottom. As she was on maternity leave she used the opportunity to crawl back into bed to her husband who was on sick leave.

"It would be nice to have a Genie who's delivering breakfast in bed," Alex murmured.

"I'd volunteer, but I'd have trouble with the tray," Bobby said.

"No problem. Let's cuddle up for a moment more and then I'll go and make breakfast. What would you like to have?"

"Anything you'll make will be fine."

"Oh, you're quite brave this morning, huh?"

"No, I'm not," he mumbled and turned on the other side.

"Bobby?" Alex asked worriedly.

"I just trust you to make what I like. I'll need it."

Alex sighed. Yes, that might be true. In the early afternoon was the funeral and just by the look of him she could tell that Bobby would rather like to hide under the covers. She also knew that he would never do that. Despite everything Frankie had done, his gambling addiction, his lies, Bobby had loved his brother. She wished it would have been enough to save Frankie. How many times did Bobby reach out for him and how often did Frankie let him down? Once he even attacked Bobby with a knife when he was neither willing nor able to give him the money he had asked for. There was not much Bobby would not have done for his brother and Frankie had only used that to his advantage. Alex worried a little about the fact that that enraged her so much, even now that he was dead.

"I'll go downstairs now, okay?" she murmured close to his ear and kissed his temple.

"Okay."

So Alex slipped out of bed, dressed in sport pants and sweater and checked on Ronny and Naomi quickly before she went to the kitchen. It did not take long to make breakfast. She put their plates with bacon, egg, and toast on a tray together with a thermos jug full of coffee and two mugs. Back in their bedroom she found Bobby sitting in the bed. Smirking she sat the tray down on his lap and as he held it she climbed back into bed beside him.

"Smells delicious."

"Thanks. Enjoy."

"I'm sure that I will."

They ate in silence, but it was an amicable and comfortable silence. They just enjoyed their breakfast. Once they were finished they vanished in the bathroom, got dressed and took care of the kids again. So the morning passed with all kinds of preparation. About noon Bobby became nervous and Alex just went to him and hugged him tight. She felt him shudder and his arms wrapped around her. For a moment they simply stood there and held each other.

"Thanks," he murmured as he let go of her.

Alex just smiled at him. It was all he needed. Then the door bell rang and she went to open the front door. Her parents arrived to drive together with them to the cemetery. It was a silent drive. Upon arriving they met a small group. Lewis came up to Bobby and patted his shoulder before he accompanied him over to the grave. Ross and Rodgers were there as well as James Deakins and his wife. Carolyn and Mike were also waiting. To Bobby's surprise he also saw Fiona and Collin. They all gathered around Bobby supportively and his heart filled with gratefulness.

It was a simple ceremony. Honest as well as loving words were spoken, the coffin lowered in the grave and earth and flowers thrown onto it.

Slowly one after the other left the grave to return to the cars until only Bobby stood beside the hole in the ground, staring at the wooden coffin covered with earth and flowers. He sensed that Alex had not left but stood a few steps away behind him, giving him privacy as well as support and he sighed.

"Now, that is the end, Frankie," he murmured. "Hope you'll find what you were searching for in the next world. Good bye."

For another moment he stood there in silence, fighting his tears, before he turned to go with Alex back to their car. He was glad that she was driving like she usually did when they were on duty. So he could just let his mind roam back to memories and theories about Donny, his own children with Alex, Nicole…

Way too soon they were back at the house where he had to face his family and friends. Bobby was relieved to experience that he had not to listen to endless repetitions of _I'm sorry for your loss_ or anything similar. Everyone proved to be compassionate without hiding behind phrases like that. Most of them had the decency to leave after one or maybe two drinks and so he and Alex were left only with Helen and John as well as Carolyn and Mike about an hour later.

When the telephone rang Bobby feared that he would get just another condolence call, but he was mistaken. It was Ross. Without saying much himself Bobby listened to what their captain had to say. Upon turning back to Alex and the others his face had lost a lot of color.

"What?" Alex panted with dread knotting her stomach.

"They found Nicole."

tbc…


	22. Chapter 22

**Roots and Seeds**

a Law and Order: CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Dick Wolf still has not agreed to sell them, so they're not mine. This is just for fun and practice.

**Chapter**** 22**

Alex and Bobby were glad that Helen had not left yet. She agreed readily to take care of Ronny and Naomi so that her daughter and son in law could go together with Mike. Carolyn would drive home to look after her own daughter.

When the three detectives arrived at the scene, an empty estate, they met not only Ross but Bishop and Falacci as well.

"Surprised to see me here?" Ross asked, amused, as they approached.

Rodgers was back in her element. One of the CSU techs had given her a plastic coverall and so she cowered beside Nicole Wallace's remains now.

"Cause of death appears to be pretty obvious," she told the group in general. "Shot to the forehead. Heart removed. More details after the autopsy."

"As usual," Ross said. _So much about our dinner,_ he thought miserably. _Why did I have to fall for the medical examiner? Why not find a woman who would wait for me at home?_ Watching Elizabeth work he knew exactly why. She was an independent woman who knew exactly what she wanted and self-confidently mastered her job and her life. _Oh, I love that woman._

Ross did not notice that he was being watched himself. Bobby eyed him furtively and saw clearly what had been an educated guess before. It was quite obvious now judging by the look Ross observed Rodgers with. A fleeting smile played around the detective's lips and his gaze drifted to Alex. Bobby was pretty sure that it stood as obviously in his own eyes now that he loved her.

Then his eyes followed her gaze and were directed on Nicole. Now she did not look that seductive anymore. Her body lay in a shallow grave that could have been covered by only a thin layer of soil. The blonde strands of her hair were rather brown now. As last night's rain certainly had washed away the soil over her everything was muddy.

"Who found her?" Bobby wanted to know.

"Kids," Ross answered his question. "They were playing cops and robbers and virtually stumbled over her."

Bobby grimaced. He could imagine better things to trip up over.

"He wanted her to be found," Mike murmured as he stepped beside Bobby. "Otherwise he would have made a deeper hole, don't you think? Or he would have hidden her somewhere entirely else. He wasn't that stupid."

"Yeah," Bobby mumbled. "It's also possible that he couldn't bring her elsewhere or dig deeper. He wasn't in any physical condition to dig a grave."

"It's a moot point to rack your brains over it," Alex threw in. "Declan Gage is dead. It doesn't matter anymore."

"We should still try and prove that he really is the murderer of Nicole Wallace," Falacci said. "He probably had an accomplice."

"I don't think he did," Bobby contradicted her. "He wasn't the type. I think he was acting on his own."

"Nicole Wallace was his partner," Bishop argued.

"Declan used her. She rather was a pawn in his game he had to sacrifice."

"I'm surprised that Nicole didn't realize that," Mike said. "I mean, she was pretty smart. I can't imagine her falling for Gage's trap."

"I don't know," Bobby mused. "She was obsessed with me. Declan was obsessed by the idea of having to free me."

Mike frowned. That was news to him.

Bobby knew that look. "Yeah. He believed that I couldn't become truly happy as long as I'd have to take care of Frankie or would be molested by Nicole."

"He lost his marbles, huh?"

"Yeah," Bobby said quietly, sadly. He once had admired Declan Gage for his brilliance as profiler. That brilliance still showed, but it got misdirected by a false sense of responsibility.

Two members of the coroner's staff lifted Nicole's remains into a body bag and put that on a stretcher to carry it over to their car. They would transport the corpse to the morgue where Rodgers would do the autopsy.

Bobby sighed as the back doors of the coroner's car fell shut. Another chapter of his life closed right when another started. Naomi. He smiled. His daughter would get a better chance than her mother ever had.

"Ready to go?" Alex asked. "Mike and Falacci will work the case now."

He nodded and followed her to their car. Before they could get in Alex's cell phone rang. Bobby remained standing in the open passenger's door, watching her as he leaned on the roof of the car. She also had been about to sit down and had her right hand on the steering wheel, her right foot in the car when she answered the call.

"Mom! What…?"

Bobby saw her pale and vanish in the car when she sank in the driver's seat.

"Alex?" he asked worriedly, bending in the car through the open door. Supporting himself on the seat he reached out to touch her shoulder reassuringly. "Alex, what's wrong?"

In a state of trance she snapped the cell phone shut. Her hand was shaking.

"That… was mom. She… she said that there was a woman at the door. She had a gun and… she was in the house! She has taken Naomi!"

xXx

"Wha…"

Bobby's voice failed him. Shock chased chills down his back and he felt his knees give out. Suddenly he knelt in the mud beside the car, leaning on the seat, breathing hard. At first he did not even notice that Alex had taken his hand and caressed the back of his head soothingly.

"Alex?" Mike asked anxiously, squatting down in the open driver's door. "Alex, what's wrong?"

"The call I got," she sobbed. "It was my mom. Naomi got kidnapped."

"What?!" Mike was stunned. "I'll be right back."

Mike hurried over to Ross to give him the disturbing news. This proved to be one of the rare opportunities that Ross swore. And this time he swore loudly. He also strode quickly over to Alex's car. Mike ran around the front and squatted down beside Bobby who still knelt on the ground.

"Hey, Bobby. C'mon, pal. Get up. The ground's cold." Taking his shoulders Mike tried to pull him up so that he then could sit in the passenger's seat, but the big detective would not be moved. "Oh, c'mon. You don't want to catch a cold, do you? Naomi needs you. C'mon."

"Eames. What's going on?" Ross demanded to know.

"I'm not sure," she told him over her shoulder, still attempting to soothe her husband. "My mom called and said that a woman came and kidnapped Naomi."

"Bishop! Falacci!" Ross yelled over the whole scene. "Come here!"

Quickly the other detectives joined them. Both wore equal questioning expressions.

"Kidnapping. Falacci, you and Logan will accompany Goren and Eames home in case that the kidnapper calls. Bishop, you'll organize the surveillance."

Both women nodded and Bishop went to make some calls.

Falacci leaned in toward Alex and talked to her soothingly. She convinced Alex to change her seat to the rear of the car. Mike coaxed Bobby up and into the backseat, too. Then the partners climbed in the front and drove them all back to Alex's house.

Alex was more composed than Bobby. Excusing herself to Mike and Falacci she hopped out of the car right when it stopped and ran to the front door. Fumbling with her keys she tried to get in. Then the door was opened from inside for her.

"Mom!" she exclaimed and threw herself into her embrace.

"I'm sorry!" Helen said. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"Come inside."

Alex led her to the couch and coaxed her to sit down. Then she rushed to the kitchen to fetch a glass of water.

"Here, Mom."

Out of the corner of her eye she saw her colleagues enter. Mike pushed Bobby into an armchair. Falacci went to Helen's side. She felt her pulse.

"High but not dangerously high," she said. "I think she'll be ready in a few minutes. Let's just give her some time." Still she remained squatting beside Helen, holding her hand and stroking it reassuringly.

Mike stayed with Bobby who was staring at Helen now.

"What happened?" he asked tonelessly.

Helen wiped at her eyes. She was not sure how to begin. Actually she was not sure how to tell them anything. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound left it. Shudders shook her body. Looking at Bobby was painful. She let him down.

"The door bell rang," Helen told them tearfully. "A woman was outside. She was in her thirties I'd say. Her hair was brown and her eyes… green, I think."

"What did she wear?" Alex asked.

"Gray trousers, black shoes… a long coat, dark blue, I think."

"How did she get to Naomi?" Bobby demanded to know.

"She threatened me with a gun. I had to show her upstairs to the children's room There she was surprised to see two babies. She heatedly urged me to show her Nicole's child."

Astonished Alex and Bobby exchanged glances.

"What exactly did she say?" Bobby asked.

"Um… I think _Two? Why are there two? Which one is Nicole's?_ were her words," Helen told them.

Bobby became quite focused. Alex thought she could hear the wheels turn in his head. Suddenly he jumped out of his armchair and darted into the hall. They could hear him stomp up the stairs.

"Well, if you gotta go, you gotta go," Mike remarked wryly.

Falacci rolled her eyes at him.

"What?" he demanded to know from his partner.

"Do you have to use movie quotes _now_?" she grumbled.

"Huh?"

Again Falacci rolled her eyes.

"I was so scared that she might take Ronny Lee," Helen sobbed. "So I told her that Naomi was Nicole's daughter. I pleaded with her not to take her, but she would not listen."

"It's okay, Mom," Alex told her. "She had a weapon. You could not refuse her."

"It's not okay, Alex!" Helen wiped at her eyes. "She has taken Bobby's daughter. Why would she want to do that?"

More thumps thundered down the stairwell and Bobby ran back into the living room.

"Does she look familiar?" Bobby asked, holding a picture drawn by a sketch artist out to Alex's mother.

Her eyes growing wide Helen stared at the picture. "That's her!" she gasped. "Do you know her?"

All the others gathered around them to take a look. Mike finally took the paper from Bobby.

"Isn't that Naomi?" Alex asked. "Nicole's girlfriend? I thought she was dead."

"Well, that's what Nicole told me in her letter," Bobby said darkly. "But when was she ever honest with me?"

"When she said that Naomi was your daughter," Mike remarked.

"Mike!" Alex hissed.

Bobby glowered at his colleague but remained silent. He had other things to worry about.

"What does she want with the baby?" Falacci wanted to know. "Extort ransom?"

"I doubt it," Bobby said. "Nicole abducted Alex to force me to have intercourse with her in order to father a child for her and her girlfriend. I believe that she wants Naomi for herself. She wants to keep her."

His gaze came to rest on Alex who shivered under his stare. _God help that woman when he finds her,_ she thought.

"Where could she have gone?" Alex asked.

A good question. Bobby did not have an answer and there was no one they could ask. Nicole was dead and so was Declan. They did not even know the woman's last name. Hell, they did not even know if Naomi was her real first name.

"Probably some place that is important for her and Nicole," Bobby suggested.

"And where would that be?" Mike asked.

"No idea," Bobby admitted and felt his voice waver. His daughter was gone. Kidnapped. He just got used to the idea of having a daughter in addition to his son and now she was abducted by the girlfriend of her mother.

"Well, we'll issue a search for her," Falacci stated, taking the picture from Mike. "I assume that we still have that picture in our files. Ross will take it and issue the search. Soon every cop in New York will know her face."

"We'll also issue an Amber Alert," Bishop said. "Do you…"

"I'll get you a picture of little Naomi," Alex cut her off. "We have a Polaroid of her." She hurried off to get said picture.

Bobby nodded to both suggestions. He knew the odds were against them. Naomi or whatever her name was could already be in another state. If they found no trace of her they would have to get the FBI involved as they were responsible for kidnapping cases and any crime passing federal borders.

Sighing Bobby went to the window, looking the street up and down. There was nothing suspicious to see. He did not like the idea of going to the FBI. More than once he had had to work together with the Bureau's missing persons unit. He was not fond of the idea of going to Jack Malone and his team to report his daughter missing.

It just seemed to be his only choice if they did not find Naomi soon.

For his daughter Bobby would bite that bullet and more. He would go to the end of the world and back to bring her home safely, just like he would do for Alex or Ronny.

He just hoped that it would not be necessary.

tbc…


	23. Chapter 23

**Roots and Seeds**

a Law and Order: CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Dick Wolf still has not agreed to sell them, so they're not mine. This is just for fun and practice.

A/N: Thank you for your reviews. I really appreciate them. :) So, we're almost done. One more chapter after this one. Enjoy!

**Chapter**** 23**

A phone call with Ross confirmed Bobby's suspicion: He ordered them to stay home and wait for the technicians who would set up the equipment for the telephone surveillance. Falacci and Bishop left to join the search while Mike stayed with them to keep them company.

"Seriously, Mike, that's not necessary," Bobby told him. "You're helping us more by participating in the search."

"It's no big deal, really," Mike insisted. "I like to stay with you. Do you mind the support?"

Tilting his head to the side Bobby raised an eyebrow at him. _Support?_ it said.

"Be honest, Mike," Alex said, "and tell us the truth. Ross told you to stay behind and make sure that we stay here."

"That's what you're saying."

"No, that's what Ross is likely to do. We know our captain by now."

"Deakins would have done the same," Bobby threw in.

"Oh, now you're defending Ross?"

"Nope. Just saying that he's doing what he has to do."

Alex snorted without amusement.

"Marriage's taming you, Bobby?" Mike teased.

"No way," Bobby muttered under his breath.

For a moment they stood and sat in silence before Mike remarked wryly, "Make sure that they're not doing anything stupid were his actual words."

His attempt at loosening the tension failed. So Mike finally sat down, too, while Bobby remained standing at the window. For a while no one spoke. They did not feel like talking. Alex only left when she heard Ronny Lee cry. It was time to feed him. She just went up the stairs when the doorbell rang and the technicians arrived.

"Over there," Bobby showed them the telephone mainlines.

They went to work and in a matter of minutes they set up their whole equipment. One of them sat on the sofa, his case with computer and phone in front of him on the coffee table.

Bobby paced the living room and strolled into the kitchen now.

From where he sat in his armchair Mike watched his friend and colleague. He knew that Bobby's restlessness would get worse by the minute. Soon he would be so tense that he was going to explode. Mike sighed. So far he had no idea how to prevent that outburst.

"Should I make some coffee?" Bobby asked unexpectedly.

"Coffee would be great," the technicians said and Mike nodded appreciatively.

"Okay." Bobby vanished in the kitchen again and started brewing the coffee. "I'm going upstairs to Alex and Ronny," he then told his co-workers and went up the stairs.

"Hey," Alex greeted him as he snuck into the children's room.

"Hey."

Slowly he walked over to her, grabbed a blanket on the way, threw it on the ground beside her rocking chair and sat down on it.

Alex smirked tiredly. In her arms Ronny was sleeping peacefully.

"I couldn't put him back in the cradle," she told Bobby. "I just want to hold him. Imagine, Bobby… she could have taken him, too."

"He's home," Bobby said hoarsely. "That's all that counts."

"Yeah…"

Tears glistened in her eyes which surprised Bobby. She had not been prejudiced against taking Naomi in, but she had not been crazy about it either. Did her emotional reaction promise a developing connection to Naomi? Bobby pushed the thought aside. It did not matter. All that mattered was that the little girl came back unharmed.

"Come downstairs with me? I have an idea."

"Oh, really?" Hopefully she looked over at him. "Do you know where to find her?"

"No, but maybe we can lure her out of her hiding place. C'mon." He got up and gently took Ronny out of her arms. "Take the nursing pillow down with you. Ronny can sleep in the armchair."

"Okay."

So both detectives went back downstairs. Alex arranged the thick long pillow on the couch beside her and Bobby laid Ronny down in the middle. The little boy babbled happily, making all the cops smile warmly at him.

Then Bobby brought the coffee and mugs from the kitchen, serving first the technicians and then Mike before he helped himself to a big mug full of hot strong black brew. Alex declined in favor of a cup of tea which made Bobby smirk. He remembered that his caffeine addicted wife and partner had been drinking tea during and a while after her surrogate pregnancy, too. He never had asked her if she had medical reasons for the change of her favorite beverage or if she actually preferred tea during that time.

"Okay, Bobby," she pushed. "What's your idea?"

"Nicole's funeral… Naomi certainly wants to say goodbye to her. We could arrange a funeral and observe the grave during and after the ceremony."

"Hoping that Naomi comes to visit her girlfriend's grave," Mike mused.

"Might work," one of the technicians said. "I think it's worth a try."

"You don't think that she'll call, do you?" the other expert said.

"Actually, no," Bobby admitted. "This is not about ransom. She wants the child for herself."

Now it was out. Said aloud. It was not surreal anymore.

"Well, sounds like a plan," Mike said. "We should talk with Ross about it."

"That will be best," Alex agreed. "Maybe he can come over here, just in case that she _does_ call."

"Yeah." Mike got up from his comfortable chair. "I'll call him. Tell him about your idea and ask if they have anything new."

_In that case he would have called,_ Bobby thought.

Mike went out into the hall to make the call while the others stayed in the living room, gladly sipping at their coffees. It did not take long for Bobby to become restless again. Getting up he started to pace.

For a while the technicians just tried to ignore him, then one of them got up to sit in another armchair, turning his back on Bobby. "Getting seasick," he mumbled.

Alex could not quite bite back a smirk. This was one of the effects Bobby had on other people. Over the years she got used to his quirks but in the beginning his urge for pacing had upset her, too.

"Okay, the Captain is on his way," Mike said upon coming back in. "By the way, Bobby… great coffee."

"Thanks, Mike," Bobby growled. He was not in the mood for compliments.

Staring out of the window again Bobby let his gaze wander. His mind followed and soon turned around the next corner, flying away as one idea triggered the next. Suddenly the room seemed to shrink. It felt like a prison cell, the walls starting to close in on him.

He had to get out of here.

Turning he searched Alex's gaze. One look, a twitch in the corner of his eye, and he went to the kitchen. A moment later she followed him.

"Sandwiches?" she said upon entering, loud enough for the others to hear. "What?" she then asked him in a lower voice. "You have another idea, haven't you?"

He nodded.

"Okay, I'll help you," Alex agreed, speaking louder again. "Tuna? Turkey?"

"Some cheese would be fine, too," he said and added considerably more quietly, "I think I know where she could be."

"Where?"

"Where they kept you prisoner. At the amusement park."

"Oh, really?" Alex was sceptical. "Why should she go there?"

"Because she needs a place to hide. She probably thinks that we wouldn't search for her there."

"That's a very vague guess." Alex got out dishes, bread and other stuff to prepare the sandwiches. "And now? What do you want to do?"

"I want to go there and get Naomi back."

"Alone?" Alex panted and almost cut her finger instead of the tomato in her hand.

"We shouldn't go there with the whole circus. Remember how Naomi was screaming all the time? Imagine if she started that again because she doesn't know that woman. Her abductor will be on edge anyway. I don't want to make that worse than it already is."

"Bobby, I don't think that that's a good idea."

"Then come with me."

"Bobby! We can't just go on a scavenger hunt for her. Ross is on his way over here. You're injured. I'm not one hundred percent fit either."

"We can both hold a gun and by the way… remember that my strongest weapon is talk?"

"Yeah, I remember," she grumbled, putting a few sandwiches together.

"I can't just sit here and twiddle my thumbs, Alex!" he argued. "I have to do something! I'm going crazy in here!"

"Bobby."

"Will you help me?"

Taking a deep breath Alex finished the rest of the sandwiches. She was really not sure if she wanted to help him, but if she did not he might sneak out and go on his own and that would be even worse.

"We'll meet at the car," she murmured and put the sandwiches on the plates. "Go."

So Bobby snuck out into the hall where he checked on his gun again that he wore in his belt holster. Then he stalked from there out through the back door. With a heavy sigh Bobby sank into the passenger's seat. Was he doing the right thing? And should Alex really go with him? Maybe he should tell her to stay…

Then the door on the driver's side flew open.

"Bobby! What the fuck are you doing?"

Astonished Bobby looked up to see Mike who bent in through the open door. That was not good. That really was not good.

"Where the bloody hell do you think you're going?" Without invitation Mike sank into the driver's seat. Or better he tried to sink into it. With some difficulty he scrambled back out and shoved the seat back before he tried to get in again. Then he adjusted the rearview mirror. "You're out of your mind," Mike growled. "I'll have to protect you from yourself."

Before Bobby could start arguing with him Mike had put the key into the ignition and started the car.

"You owe me big time, pal," he grumbled as he went into reverse, looked over his shoulder and steered the car out on the street.

Stunned Bobby just could stare at his colleague as he drove the car away from their house.

"Just please promise me that we won't be fired at with tranquilizer darts again."

xXx

"We'll only check if someone's in there," Mike grumbled. "Any sign of Naomi and your daughter and we'll call the SWAT team. Got it?"

"Yeah, got it," Bobby confirmed. He had an odd feeling of déjà vu when the walked down the alley between the attractions. The season was over again and all the stands and rides were closed. At least they did not have to stalk through knee deep snow this time.

"Okay, that's the building." Mike tried the door handle. He frowned with surprise. "It's open."

"Then c'mon, let's go inside," Bobby pushed.

"No. We'll call Alex and get Ross and backup here!"

"Can't wait," Bobby said and pushed through the gap.

"Bobby!" Mike hissed, trying to grab his coat, but his friend already was out of reach. "Damnit!"

They were only a few steps in when they heard the high pitched cries of a baby.

"Naomi!" Bobby panted, rushing forward.

"Bobby! Wait!" Mike ran after him, cursing inwardly. He should have expected that Bobby could not wait for Special Weapons and Tactics in case that they should really find Naomi. Now he had to stop him somehow before it was too late.

The whining grew louder and Bobby could also hear a female voice murmuring something in an increasingly agonized voice.

"Stop crying!" the woman yelled at the little girl, making her scream all the more. "Oh, stop it! Stupid thing! Why won't you stop?!"

"Maybe her diaper needs to get changed," Bobby simply suggested.

"What the…?"

She was standing beside the bed, the baby lying on it in a nest of blankets. Twisting around the woman yanked a weapon out of her belt and aimed at Bobby.

"She's mine!" she screamed at him. "Nicole promised me that her child would be ours!"

"I am her father, Naomi," Bobby said as calmly as he could manage. "Why don't you put down the gun and we'll sit and talk about everything, okay?"

"No! You're just the donor! You have no right to take her away from me!"

"We can talk about God and the world, Naomi," Bobby told her. "Just put the gun aside and we'll talk."

She shook her head wildly. "No!" she screamed. "You'll take her away!"

"I won't take her away. You're her family, too. Just… let us sit and talk how we can arrange it. You can see her. Just call us and…"

"No! I'll take her with me! She's my daughter! Mine and Nicole's!"

"I know. Nicole promised you that you'll have a family, right?"

She nodded, tears glistening in her eyes.

"You never had a real family?"

This time she shook her head.

"You were always shoved around, from one children's home to another, from one foster family to the next. Right?"

Sniffling she nodded again. "Nicole was my family. She made me happy. Now the girl's all I've got left from her!"

"I got a letter from Nicole," Bobby said. "She wrote about you, Naomi… and about her child. Do you want to read it?"

"Y-yes," she murmured.

"Okay. I'll get the letter out of my jacket pocket, okay? Just one moment…"

Carefully he reached for the inner pocket of his jacket. Unfortunately she spotted the gun he carried in his belt holster. Without warning and before Bobby could say anything more she pulled the trigger.

"Bobby! Nooo!" Mike screamed, storming into the room, his gun raised. He saw her turn on him and yelled, "Police! NYPD! Put the gun down!"

When she made a step forward, her gun hand still raised, ready to release the trigger again, Mike had no other choice. His gun thundered before she could shoot again.

It was a reflex.

It was the end of Nicole's former girlfriend.

She fell backwards and hit the floor hard, the gun tossed out of her hand and skidding away.

"Bobby!" Mike yelled with a hint of panic in his voice. "Bobby! No! Bobby! How bad is it? Can you hear me? Bobby?"

Bobby groaned with pain. He lay on his back, his limbs splayed out like those of a starfish. Maybe he could move, but he did not want to.

"Yeah," he moaned. "Mike, don't yell."

"God, Bobby! Why do you always…"

"Naomi!" he groaned. "Where's Naomi! Is she okay?"

"I'll go check on her," Mike promised. "But first I'll have to stop…" he pressed his hand on the wound in Bobby's thigh, "this bleeding."

Taking his belt out of its loops and wrapping it around Bobby's leg Mike used it as a tourniquet. It was not ideal, but it had to be enough until they got help. He got his cell phone out, ready to call for a bus when someone stormed in through the door.

"Stupid bastard!" Ross cursed. "Goes and gets himself shot again! Falacci, call a bus!" he ordered her, but she already was talking on the phone.

"Captain, where are you coming…?" Mike's words died in his throat when he saw Alex come in behind their commanding officer.

"Eames told me about Goren's escapade when I arrived," Ross thundered. "Thank God she did! What the hell were you thinking? Can't you follow an order once, Goren? Can you?! Just once?"

"I can," Bobby mumbled. He did not feel so good, which was not really a big surprise.

In the meantime Alex found her way to the field bed where Naomi still lay in her nest of blankets. She was not crying anymore and stared up at Alex like a doe blinded by headlights.

"Hello, sweetie," she purred, reaching out for her to pick her up. "Everything's alright now, baby. The bad woman can't hurt you anymore."

"Alex," Bobby tried to call out for her but did not manage more than a strangled moan. "Alex."

"I'm here, Bobby," she said, rushing to his side. "I have Naomi. She is okay."

That triggered a weak smile from him, but pain clearly stood in his eyes.

"Damn! Where's the fucking bus?" Mike swore. "Hang in there, Bobby."

"Not going anywhere, Mike," Bobby groaned.

"Not for a while anyway," Ross remarked wryly. He still was angry with his detective, and rightly so.

"Sorry, Captain," Bobby rasped. "Had to go."

"Ever heard of cell phones?" he captain growled. "You should have called for backup when you discovered that she was here."

"I had backup," Bobby said, sounding almost innocent now, and glanced at Mike.

"Speaking of you, Logan," Ross turned to him. "Your gun."

"I know," Mike said and handed his gun over.

"What… what about the woman, Naomi?" Bobby wanted to know. "Alex?"

"She's dead," Falacci told them. "Logan shot her."

That was when the bus arrived and paramedics rushed in. They took care of Bobby, treated his wound with a strong bandage and put him on an IV. Then they lifted him onto a stretcher.

"I swear, Bobby," Alex said as she followed the medics who pushed the gurney out to the ambulance. "This is the last time you're going to a hospital or I will shoot you! You make me do that and I'll make sure that you won't need a bus ever again!"

"Oh, oh," Bobby groaned.

"I couldn't have expressed that better myself," Ross mumbled to himself as he followed them out with his gaze. He appreciated the detective's investigative skills, but he suspected that his antics would one day drive him to a stroke or heart attack.

Mike grinned to himself as he overheard the captain's rant. Yeah, you had to get used to Robert O. Goren and that was not an easy task to achieve. How had Alex put it? He was an acquired taste? Yeah, he sure was.

"He brings out the best in us, huh?" Falacci murmured to Mike, tilting her head slightly towards the captain. The small smirk playing around her lips clearly gave away that she overheard him, too.

"Bobby never wants to show off, but he often does," Mike chuckled. "It just happens because he's so brilliant."

"Yeah… He could rub off a bit on you, partner," she teased.

Mike frowned at her, crossing his arms over his chest and huffing indignantly.

"You're cute when you're pouting," Falacci smirked, changing his frown to a scowl. "I bet Carolyn can't help but tease you constantly just to make you look like that."

"Be careful, Falacci," Mike growled. "You don't wanna know what Carolyn will do to you if you don't stop teasing me."

"Oh, she allowed flirting," Falacci chuckled. "She knows that I'm happily married. So… no danger there."

"So, you're happily married, huh? And what about me?" Mike Logan asked challengingly. "I'm happily married, too."

His voice rose in volume as he spoke and suddenly he became conscious of the silence that had settled over the house.

_Oh, shit!_

"Yes, pals," he said. "Highlight the day in your calendar, Mike Logan admitted publicly that he is happily married to his beloved wife Carolyn Barek Logan. He's also very proud of his baby daughter Sierra. Now go back to work."

On his way out, trailing after Falacci, he heard a few colleagues laugh and others murmur good-natured comments. Mike rolled his eyes. So much for his reputation. Knowing how fast the department's rumor-mill worked it would have changed by morning.

tbc…


	24. Chapter 24

**Roots and Seeds**

a Law and Order: CI story

by RoadrunnerGER

_Disclaimer_: Dick Wolf still has not agreed to sell them, so they're not mine. This is just for fun and practice.

A/N: So, it's done. Here is the last chapter. I hope you had as much fun reading as I had writing. Thanks to all of you who have reviewed. I love your input. I'm sorry that the final chapter came later than expected, but I had a good reason for getting delayed… Very special thanks to Ronni, my faithful beta reader. I love you. This story is for you. Now, enjoy, all of you.

**Chapter**** 24**

It had looked worse than it actually was. Still Alex was fuming when she picked Bobby up at the hospital as she was reminded of him being shot again. A bullet through his thigh! He really seemed to love dramatic performances and she told him so.

"That was the last time you pull such a stunt, Robert Goren," she told him heatedly as she rolled his wheelchair out of the hospital's entrance. "Try something like that again and I'll let you bleed out!"

He just scowled at her and was not the least bit surprised that she did not help him when he awkwardly got out of the chair, supporting himself on crutches.

"C'mon, Bobby!" Alex pushed. "Get into the car. I don't want to put down roots here."

"I'm coming as fast as I can, Alex," he grumbled.

"Start complaining or I'll bring you back in! Maybe you want to rent a room there so that you just have to move in the next time you get yourself shot."

Scowling at her he awkwardly got into the passenger's seat and arranged his crutches between his legs before he fastened the seat belt. Alex climbed into the driver's seat and off they went.

"Just in time," she panted. "Do you really want to go?"

"Yes, I want to," he said. "She's her mother after all. She shouldn't be hastily buried like a dog would hide a bone."

"Yeah. You're right," she agreed. "Just trying to make sure that you're up for it."

"I am, Alex. Thank you."

"What for?"

"For worrying about me," he chuckled. "Just a few minutes ago you sounded like you wanted to get rid of me sooner rather than later."

"Oh, don't take me wrong! I will if you pull such a stunt again!" Fleetingly she scowled at him before she concentrated on the street ahead of her again.

"Thank you."

"Never mind."

They drove the rest of the way to the cemetery in silence. Upon their arrival they were surprised by the small group waiting. Mike Logan was there as well as Captain Daniel Ross and their former Captain James Deakins.

"I wouldn't have expected anyone except us," Bobby murmured as he got out of the car. On his crutches he slowly made his way towards the grave. "Okay, me," he conceded after a glance at Alex's stern features. "Thanks for coming along."

"Don't thank me, Bobby," Alex said. "I'm not sure yet why I'm here."

Side by side they arrived at the spot where Nicole Wallace would find her final rest. No one spoke. The priest said a few simple words and then the coffin was lowered into the grave. For a short while the group stood in silence before Mike nodded at Bobby and turned first to go back to his car. Ross followed his wordless example and left, too. Deakins went to Bobby and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm proud of you, Bobby," he murmured. "This was a good idea for letting her go. She may have been evil, but she also had a tortured soul."

Thoughtfully Bobby nodded. A lump was in his throat and he was not sure what would come out when he tried to speak.

"Thank you, Jim," he finally said. "It just didn't feel right to just dig a hole in Potter's Field and put her into it."

"I know what you mean," Deakins said. "And I'm not surprised that you would not do the same for Declan Gage."

"He made her kill my brother," Bobby rasped. He gasped in a shuddering breath. "I can't forgive him."

Deakins nodded. "Time to let her go now," he said when he noticed that Bobby still stared at the grave.

"Yeah." Taking a deep breath Bobby hobbled between Deakins and Alex back to their car. "She'll get a simple headstone, too," he suddenly said.

"Really?" Alex was stunned. He had never mentioned that before.

"I think I know now what to engrave on it."

"You want an engraved headstone for her?" Alex could not believe it. "What do you want to have carved on it? Beloved mother? Naomi will never know her!"

"I rather thought of: _All_ _that lives must die, passing through nature to eternity_."

"Another quote? I don't quite remember it."

"It's from Hamlet," Bobby explained. Then he extended his hand to James Deakins who accepted it and squeezed strongly as he shook it. "Thank you for coming, Jim."

"It just was right, Bobby," the former captain said. "Nicole Wallace's book is closed. You can make Naomi's book interesting and rich. You and Alex, you can make a difference."

Bobby would have laughed, but strangely Deakins' words sounded right.

"I really hope so."

"I'm sure of it, Bobby," Deakins insisted. "Behavior is not inheritable."

"Some people say it is."

"That's bullshit, Bobby!" Deakins flared up. With some effort he kept his voice down, but it was obvious that he was angry. "Your roots didn't turn you into a chip off the old block. You're a damn fine detective, Bobby. Don't be so pessimistic all the time. Don't let your thoughts get clouded by the revelations about your origin. They don't change who you are."

Stunned by Deakins' speech Bobby did not know how to react at once. Then realization trickled in. Deakins knew about his father. At least he appeared to know. _Revelations about my origin…_ Bobby scowled.

"You know…" he murmured tonelessly.

"Yes," Deakins admitted. "But it doesn't matter to me. You're not Brady. Believe me, I would've noticed during the years we were working together."

"You would have noticed?" Bobby prodded. "You think you would?"

"Yes."

"You're quite an optimist."

"Yes, I am." Deakins grinned. "Now, chin up, Bobby. And keep it up, okay?"

"Yes, sir," he automatically answered and Deakins laughed.

"Goodbye, Alex. Goodbye, Bobby," their former captain said before he finally went to his car.

"You know, he's right, Bobby," Alex said.

Shrugging at her lopsidedly he hobbled to his side of their car.

"I think I understand now why you had to do that. It is good as it is. Time to rule this case closed."

"Yes," he agreed. "Let's go home."

She happily complied with his wish.

xXx

"I still think that telling Aunt Penelope and Aunt Josephine the truth about Naomi isn't the brightest idea," Alex sighed.

"And what else do you want to tell Penny and Josie?" Bobby replied.

Alex did a double take.

"What did you just call them?" she blurted out.

"Penny and Josie," Bobby repeated, smirking. "They did not seem to mind the last time."

Wide eyed she stared at him. "You actually called them that when they were here?"

Bobby nodded.

"Oh, my god." Shaking her head Alex returned to her wardrobe. "Tell me that's not true. You're just pulling my leg, aren't you?"

"No."

_I should've known,_ Alex thought ruefully. _Bobby always means what he says._

"I had to get rid of them," Bobby felt the urge to explain. "They were fussing over Ronny and you just came home with him… So I complimented them out the door."

"Including calling them Penny and Josie?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, Bobby. I don't think that was a good idea."

"I don't think that they even noticed," he said. "So… what would you tell them about where Naomi has suddenly come from?"

"They don't know anything about your family," Alex mused. "We could say that she's the daughter of a remote relative of yours, your cousin maybe. Your cousin… Maybelle died in a car crash and as you are her only relative you decided to take her daughter in."

Bobby could not help but chuckle. "Hm, maybe," he conceded. "But your parents and Fiona's family already know."

"They won't tell a thing, Bobby. You should know that by now."

"I do. I just don't trust coincidences. Somehow your aunts might find out and how would it look like when Helen, John, Fiona, and Collin already knew about it?"

"You really want to tell them the truth?" Alex prodded incredulously.

"Yes. Maybe you misjudge them. Maybe they are more understanding than you give them credit for. Let's just tell them where she came from. And don't underestimate the baby-factor. She's cute. They'll love her."

Alex sighed… and hoped and prayed that Bobby would be right.

"Hello," Helen Eames said, checking on them. "I thought I'd better warn you. They just pulled up on the curb."

"Thanks, Mom."

"What were you discussing?"

"Alex was wondering if it wouldn't be better if we told her aunts that Naomi is the daughter of a cousin of mine," Bobby explained before Alex could start stuttering.

"Maybe that idea isn't bad after all," Helen mused. "We know the truth and we accept it and love Naomi as much as we love Ronny…" She paused. "But I'm not so sure about Penelope and Josephine's reaction."

"It just feels wrong not to tell the truth," Bobby said.

"Would it be that bad if we don't tell them?" Alex wanted to know.

"We would have to stick with the story throughout her entire life. Do _you_ want to do _that_?"

"We see Penelope and Josephine about four or five times a year," Alex argued.

"See… I'm afraid that we'll see them more often now that we have kids."

By now Fiona had let said aunts in. They were waiting in the living room. Alex, Helen and Bobby could hear their shrill and excited voices all the way upstairs.

"Okay," Bobby conceded. "We'll have it your way."

"I don't want it to go _my way_!" Alex pouted. "I just don't think that…"

"They're your aunts. I don't know them at all, except for their first names. If you think that it's better to spare them the worry we'll do that."

Questioningly Alex looked at her mother who nodded. "Okay."

So they picked up Ronny and Naomi and went downstairs. They were not confronted much by Penelope and Josephine because they only cursory greeted them before they were fussing over the babies. For a while Alex's aunts were happy with tickling the kids, trying to make them laugh, and babbling nonsense. Then Josephine noticed that something was wrong.

"Where did the girl come from?" she asked, stunned. "Alexandra? You didn't have fraternal twins and not tell us?"

"No, Aunt Josephine. I didn't."

"So?"

Now they also had Penelope's attention.

"You see, Aunt Penelope, Bobby's cousin Maybelle, she died in a car crash and…" Alex trailed off when she felt her husband's hand on her shoulder.

"Actually that's not true," Bobby said, eliminating every chance of explaining Naomi's presence otherwise. "Before I got together with Alexandra…" he lovingly smiled at her before he turned to her aunts again, "I had non-consensual intercourse with another woman. She is Naomi's mother."

"You…! You…! You…!" Aunt Josephine gasped for breath like a fish on dry land.

"You…! You…!" Aunt Penelope was not much inventive either.

"You… r-r-raped a… a wo…" Aunt Josephine looked slightly green.

"Actually I was the one who did not consent," Bobby remarked wryly, effectively silencing the old spinsters.

He glanced at Alex. Her smile was obviously forced. Nervously she kneaded her hands. Smiling back sheepishly Bobby shrugged. Now he could not take it back, but he was glad that he told them the truth.

"W-w-what… what…"

"What am I trying to say exactly?" Bobby mused, finishing Aunt Penelope's sentence. "That was when Alex got kidnapped last year. Her abductor forced me to have intercourse with her in exchange for Alex's life. She got pregnant. Naomi is our daughter."

Openmouthed Alex's aunts stared at him. They looked crestfallen.

"B-b-but… h-how can you… the child," Aunt Josephine stuttered.

"We had to take her in," Alex answered her. "Her mother is dead, Bobby is her father. It's that simple."

Obviously it was not as simple for Aunts Josephine and Penelope. They sat on the sofa, pale, shocked by the revelation.

"How about a coffee?" Alex asked. "Or maybe something stronger?"

"Do you have some advocaat, Alexandra?" Aunt Penelope shakily asked.

"I think we do," Alex confirmed. "For you, too, Aunt Josephine?"

"Actually I could do with a shot of whiskey," the old lady said.

"You don't drink whiskey," Aunt Penelope told her.

"Of course I do."

"No, you don't!"

"Just because you never see me drinking whiskey that doesn't mean I don't do it."

"Josephine!" Once more Aunt Penelope was shocked.

"Get over it, Penny," Aunt Josephine said. Spotting Bobby who returned from the house bar with the requested drinks and glasses she beamed at him and gestured him to pour her a shot. "Don't be shy, Bobby," she said, waving her hand, urging him to pour more into her glass. She took it from him with a bright smile and raised it. "To your two beautiful children," she said. "May they have a long and prosperous life."

And with that she downed her whiskey.

Aunt Penelope looked as if she would pass out.

Taking another glass from Bobby Josephine gestured for him to fill it before she pushed it into Penelope's hand.

"Here, love," she purred. "Have a drink."

Too shocked to react otherwise Penelope took the glass and drank. Coughing and panting she tried to catch her breath next.

Conspiratorially Bobby leaned in to Alex and murmured, "I'm starting to like Josie."

"Alex, Bobby," Josephine shouted happily. "I want to see them. Let's go upstairs to see the kids, okay?"

"Sure, Aunt Josephine," Alex said and got up first.

Grinning her aunt looked at Bobby. "It's Josie from now on. C'mon."

And she followed Alex out close on her heels. A moment later Penelope trailed after them and they vanished upstairs in the children's room.

xXx

_three months later_

When Alex came home with the kids she was greeted by a wonderful smell. She found Bobby in the kitchen where he just closed the oven.

"Hey, Alex!" he greeted cheerfully and pulled her in his embrace to kiss her. "What did the doctor say?"

"Both kids are as fit as a fiddle," she replied proudly and sat down on the corner seat. "It wasn't such a bad idea to accept that appointment. We were in and out in less than twenty minutes. Hmmm… that smells wonderful."

"It's not finished yet," Bobby said, sitting down across from her.

"But the smell is very promising."

"Thanks." He grinned. "Did you already put them to bed?"

"Yeah. I came in and went straight upstairs. Ronny was tired and I put Naomi down, too. They are cuddling in the Stingray."

A warm smile split Bobby's features. "It's their first Christmas. I don't think that they'll be too impressed by the tree, though. They're too little."

"Oh, they'll love it. All the lights will be fascinating."

"I hope you'll love it, too," Bobby smirked at her. "I put some effort into decorating it."

"I'm sure I will," Alex said and got up to go into the living room, but Bobby stopped her and pulled her down to sit on his lap.

"Oh no, you'll wait until dinner when the other guests are coming."

Alex chuckled. "This is a secret I like."

"Good. Soon you'll get to see it." Softly he kissed her. "You could help me with the salad," he murmured in her ear.

"I'd prefer to help you with the sausage," she whispered, shifting her position in a way that made him gasp.

"On second thought… maybe you want to relax in a nice hot bath before our guests arrive?"

"Are you part of that bath?" Tenderly she let her fingers run through his hair behind his ears. She felt him shudder.

"I have to finish dinner."

"Bummer." Now she massaged the soft spot behind his head and he leaned into her touch, closing his eyes and moaning softly.

"I really have to finish this…"

"Then I'll better let you go, huh?"

That was exactly what she did. Alex got up from his lap and strolled out of the kitchen.

"See you later…" she purred as she vanished around the corner.

Bobby smiled.

xXx

"Hello, Carolyn. Mike. Come in!" Alex stepped aside to grant them entrance. Their friends put their coats on the rack and followed her into the living room.

The sofas were repositioned.

A festively laid table was set up along the long side of the room. White flatware rested on silver dinner plates. The white tablecloth was threaded with silver and rivaled to compete in shimmering. Silver cutlery and candleholders sparkled in the soft light of the blue candles. More flames danced over the tea lights in glass holders. Reflections flickered in the glass ornaments thrown over the blue chiffon table runner.

The table looked like a sparkling piece of glacier.

"Very pretty, Alex," Carolyn praised. "You have a hand for decoration."

"Thank you, Caro, but this time Bobby is to credit. He didn't let me in here or in the kitchen for the whole day."

"Wow," Mike said. His gaze drifted to the big Christmas tree in the corner.

It mirrored the table, light blue, dark blue and silver ornaments shimmering in the lights of numerous artificial lights. Beneath the tree lay several packages and Caro went over there to put more down.

They were not alone. John Eames was sitting on the sofa right beside Lewis. Collin and Fiona cuddled in an armchair, watching Neal play with Ronny and Naomi who were in a bed of pillows in a playpen. James Deakins and his wife completed the round.

Alex supplied everyone with a drink before Bobby came in, greeted each of them, and asked them to change to the dining table. When everyone was seated he started to bring in the bowls with potatoes and vegetables.

"Sorry, but I have to take this candle holder," he said as he removed it from the middle of the table to make room for the highlight of the meal. When he came back from the kitchen for the last time he carried a silver plate with the largest turkey they had ever seen.

"This just looks about perfect!" Fiona remarked.

"Thank you. Please, enjoy your meal."

Bobby helped everyone to a piece of turkey before he sat down at the head of the table and he, too, finally ate.

"Delicious. You're a really fine cook, Bobby Goren."

"Carolyn is right," Helen said. "It's a fantastic meal. You outperformed yourself."

"Can I book you for Caro's birthday dinner?" Mike mumbled around a bite of turkey.

"How did you make the stuffing, Bobby?" Mrs. Deakins wanted to know.

Poor Bobby blushed at all this praise.

"Okay, give him a rest," Helen said. "So that Bobby can enjoy his meal, too. He put so much work in it. Now he should enjoy it."

Dinner passed with companionable talk and was finished with an ice bomb as dessert.

"Where did you buy that?" Fiona wanted to know just to see Bobby blush again. "Don't tell me you made it yourself!"

"Y-yes, I did."

"Wonderful!"

"Delicious!"

"Unbelievable!"

"Stop!" Alex shouted, fearing that Bobby might explode. His face was dangerously dark.

"Whipped cream with the ice?" he asked when he found his voice again.

After dinner they all settled down in the sofas and easy chairs. Alex turned the radio on, playing Christmas songs. Candles were burning and cookies were on the table. They enjoyed a cup of coffee, egg nog, and candies.

While all the others were talking animatedly Alex went to the playpen where the children lay surprisingly silent. When she bent over the rim Naomi stretched out her arms at her.

"Mama!"

Alex backed a little away with surprise. "Did you hear that?" she gasped.

"Yes," Bobby told her and went on his knees beside her, leaning on the bars.

"Awww, the little cutie starts to talk."

"She just said Mama, Mom," Alex replied and picked the little girl up. Her proud smile accompanied her words.

"Actually it's no surprise that those kids are starting to talk so soon," Mike threw in. "They're Bobby's kids."

That elicited laughs from the others.

"Ok, I can't stand it any longer. I'll be right back," Lewis announced and darted out of the front door and to his car. When he returned he carried a huge thing, covered with a sheet. "I didn't have enough wrapping paper. Merry Christmas!"

And with that he pushed it into Alex and Bobby's arms.

Bobby tried to get a grip on it while Alex removed the bed sheet. She gasped.

"Lewis! That's incredible!"

They held a frame for a bed like Lewis had made it for Ronny. It was in the shape of a wave and on the wave rode shells, a seahorse, a dolphin and a mermaid.

"At first I wanted to do Cinderella's pumpkin coach, but I thought this would be better."

"It's wonderful, Lewis," Alex choked and hugged him with one arm as she would not let go of the bed frame. "Thank you. I'm sure that Naomi will love it, too."

"You're welcome, Alex. Come Bobby. Let's bring it upstairs and put it up."

Nodding Bobby grabbed the frame with both hands and together with Lewis he carried it up to the children's room.

In the meantime the party continued. When Bobby and Lewis rejoined them they all exchanged presents until everyone had a little something to take home. Then, when all the others had left, Bobby vanished for a moment. When he returned, he held a big box with a bow.

"Merry Christmas, Alex," he said, giving her the box.

She heard scraping sounds from inside.

"What's that?" she wondered, fumbling with the bow. When it slipped open Alex lifted the lid and gasped. "Awww!"

"Don't worry, I put her in there just a minute ago. The neighbor looked after her."

Out of the box a dark pair of eyes gazed up at her.

"Are you cute!" Alex exclaimed when she saw the puppy. "Oh, Bobby! That you remembered that!"

"As if I could ever forget you talking about our future dog upon giving birth to Ronny," he teased. "Her name's Kaya."

By now Alex had the little golden retriever sitting on her lap.

Like Bobby had hoped it was love at first sight. Alex loved Kaya at once and the young dog loved Alex in return. They put her basket in a corner of their bedroom. There Kaya could sleep without disturbing them.

Alex was a little surprised that Kaya did not make more fuss when she put her into her basket. "Sleep well, sweetie," Alex murmured and caressed the dog's back. Then she joined Bobby in the bed.

"Babies' first Christmas," she said. "It was a nice party. I loved the dinner, Bobby. Can I hire you as cook?"

"Only if you sign a life-long contract," Bobby smirked and started to assault her secret places.

"Bobby!" she gurgled happily. "What are you do-o-ooo-ing?"

Pausing for a moment he looked her dead in the eye, waiting until he had her full attention.

"I'm working on my Christmas present for you."

"Oh, really?" she panted, a little annoyed because he did not continue with what started out so joyously.

"Yeah."

"And what could that be?" she demanded to know with a mischievous glint in her eyes and a smirk on her lips. "What could you give to me that I don't already have?"

A genuine, warm smile spread over his handsome features before he answered, "A little daughter."

The End


End file.
